


Homesick

by AconiteWolfsbane



Series: Stranded [2]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-06
Updated: 2019-05-25
Packaged: 2020-01-05 12:58:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 26,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18366503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AconiteWolfsbane/pseuds/AconiteWolfsbane
Summary: Second part of the story I wrote during Nanowrimo 2018.Story is complete, I just need to submit it.A RQ=PD reveal fic. (as of chapter 9) Pre- 'Change Your Mind' though...Alternate title: Home(world)sick





	1. Well, That Aint Good...

**Author's Note:**

> PREVIOUSLY: 
> 
> “Beach City should be just another hour or so away.” Pearl sighed happily. “In fact,” she looked ahead. “We should be able to see it from the top of this next hill.”  
> Gasping, Steven and Connie grinned.  
> “Race ya?” Connie smirked, already moving forward.  
> Steven’s eyes widened. “Hey! No fair! Wait up!”  
> The Gems watched the two young teens as they laughed and jumped their way up the hill. 
> 
> At the top, the two stopped in their tracks, eyes wide.  
> Connie’s hand covered her mouth as Steven stared.  
> The Gems glanced at each other with concern before running to catch up. 
> 
> As the group stared at the familiar, but eerily empty town below, their hearts dropped.  
> Pearl looked at the large green triangular pyramid hovering soundlessly above the bay in front of their temple home, fear in her eyes.  
> “Homeworld.” she breathed.

**FOUR DAYS EARLIER...**  

“ **It’s an invasion! The** **Sneeple** **are coming.** ** _The_** ** _Sneeple_** ** _are coming!_** ” The young man with the blonde dreads tripped and tumbled down the last twenty-odd metres of the grassy hill, coming to rest against the edge of the donut shop.   
As the small group outside the shop gathered around him, Jenny Pizza folded her arms. “ **Ronaldo! What are you going on about this time?!** ”   
The heavy-set conspiracy theorist panted, sitting up with a groan. “ **It’s an** ** _invasion_** **! I was looking through the telescope, because what else can I do without any internet... and I saw it. A huge ship!** ”   
“ **Uh-huh...** ” The young woman nodded, scepticism in her eyes as she nudged her twin sister.    
Greg walked around the corner, coffee cup in hand. “ **Hey... What’s the commotion, kids? Sour Cream?** ”   
The thin pale young man beside Jenny shrugged. “ **Ronaldo says there’s an invasion coming...** ”   
Greg glanced up at the sky. “ **Ronaldo? Can you show me what you saw?** ”   
Ronaldo stood up, eyes shining with enthusiasm. “ **Of course!** ”   
Greg nodded and handed his coffee cup to the short blonde woman nearby. “ **Sadie, hold this for me. Kiki? You come too. If he saw what I think he did, we’re** **gonna** **need someone** **who can actually run** **...** ” 

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Ronaldo peered through the telescope. “ **Yes! It’s still there!** ”   
Greg waited for the paranoid boy to move aside and peered through himself. 

In the small window of the telescope, Greg saw a large dark triangular shape. A small amount of sunlight reflected away from it, enough for him to see the bright green colour, before darkness fell again. 

Greg sighed. “ **Kiki... Tell your grandmother to enact the emergency plan. We should evacuate immediately...** ”   
The girl’s eyes widened, and she swiftly turned and ran down the stairs, her footsteps echoing back up.   
Greg rubbed his face tiredly. “ **What a time for the Gems to be missing...** ” 

On the roof of the lighthouse, the blue Gem spread her wings. Swiftly, she bolted down towards the beach, swooping down to land near a small green girl with blonde hair.   
“ **Lapis! I’m glad you’re here! I taught Pumpkin a new trick!** ”   
Lapis picked the sentient vegetable up, tucking it under her arms before grabbing her friend. “ **No time, Peridot. We need to leave, now!** ” she hissed, launching herself into the air as Peridot squealed. After clearing the clifftop, she turned inland towards a small wooden building surrounded by fields. 

 

 **FOUR DAYS LATER – PRESENT:**  

The small group hid themselves in the shadow of the water tower. Peering out, they could just see a squad of large Carnelians marching along Waterman Street, coming closer to their location with each step.    
As they turned the corner and disappeared into Funland, Pearl sighed. “ **Okay, I haven't seen any humans yet, have you?** ”   
As the others all shook their heads, Connie glanced at her. “ **Do... Do you think they’ve all been taken to the Zoo?** ”   
Pearl glanced over at the large ship. “ **I... have no idea. I suppose it’s a possibility...** ” she sighed. “ **But,** **that means that they’re okay. Trapped and scared, yes, but okay.** ” she added.   
Steven sighed. “ **Yeah, they didn’t hurt my dad there. He just was politely told what to do with those earrings...** ”   
Connie nodded. “ **I hope my parents are okay...** ” 

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As Greg scanned the distant coastline with the telescope, he felt a presence beside him. Glancing over, he saw Doug, a cup of coffee in each hand. Behind them, the rest of Beach City’s small permanent population were gathered around the campfire. He smiled as he saw Sadie Miller and her friends seemingly telling ghost stories to the horrified adults.    
“ **Here Greg.** ” he offered a cup to him. “ **It’s terrible, but it’s... well, it’s terrible.** ” he shrugged.   
Greg smiled and took the cup, risking a small sip before grimacing at the bitter taste. “ **Well, that’s one word I’d use...** ” he sighed.   
“ **Any luck?** ” Doug asked, nodding at the telescope.   
Greg sighed. “ **No. I don’t see anyone, except Gems. And no-one I recognise...** ” he shrugged. “ **Well, okay. Some looked like Gems I know, but I know they’re not** ** _the_** **Gems...** ” he groaned at Doug’s concerned look. “ **That... didn’t make much sense, huh?** ”   
Doug shook his head. “ **Not really, no. Maybe you should get some sleep...** ” he added, reaching out to take the cup from Greg’s hand. 

Greg let him take it. “ **It just... Okay. Some Gems look like each other, because they’re the same type of Gem. Like, Steven says that he was told that there are** ** _hundreds_** **of pearls on** **Homeworld** **. They all look pretty much the same** **, just different colours, right?** **Well, I see some Gems down there that look like Amethyst, only bigger. And I've seen a bunch of Rubies running around, but they’re not the Ruby that I know. Okay?** ”   
Doug shrugged. “ **Not really. But, I guess you know more about this** **Gem stuff** **than I do...** ”   
Greg smiled. “ **Only what I've been told in the past... nearly twenty years. And that’s mostly that their** **Homeworld** **is a horrible place. They all left it for a reason, and never regretted not being able to go back. Well, except Pearl, but she’s got issues.** ” he chuckled. “ **I didn’t doubt Rose for a second when she told me that...** ”   
Doug sipped his coffee and made a disgusted face. “ **So, what’s happening down there? Any sign of Priyanka, at least?** ”   
“ **Sorry, no.** ” Greg shook his head. “ **But,** **I’ll keep looking.** ” he bent to look back through the telescope.   
 

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The conservatively dressed woman crouched behind the counter of Fish Stew Pizza. As she eyed the nearby coffee machine, she sighed, all too aware of the noise it makes. ‘ _If only..._ ’ she mused, her fingers drumming. She resisted the urge to turn her phone on, to check for any messages from Connie or Doug. ‘ _If the phone rings, I could get caught..._ ’   
The sound of marching footsteps drew her eyes back towards the outer window, as she saw what looked like larger versions of the Universe boy’s... sister? ‘ _One of these days, I am going to_ ** _have_** _to ask how they’re all related to each other..._ ’ Priyanka frowned as they marched past.   
As her stomach grumbled, she glanced at the entrance before grabbing a nearby tin of pineapple chunks. ‘ _Next time I stick around to wait for my daughter during an alien invasion, I’m packing provisions..._ ’ she mused, covering her mouth with a hand to stifle her chuckle. ‘ _It’s finally happened. This town has_ ** _finally_** _driven me crazy..._ ’ she shook her head. 

A series of angry shouts sounded, and for a heart-stopping moment, Priyanka thought she’d been spotted. She winced as the group of purple Gems ran past the shop again, towards the cliff. “ **What’s going on?** ” she muttered, crawling out and hiding under tables as she crept closer to the window to get a better view. 

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Greg gasped. “ **It’s them!** ” he looked up, excitedly. “ **Steven a** **nd** **Connie!** ”   
Doug dropped both cups and pushed Greg aside, focusing his gaze on the telescope. 

He saw the tall thin Gem, Pearl, pulling a large pink sword from her head with a flash of light. Quickly, she handed it off to a young dark-haired girl with brown skin, who raced to stand beside the short pudgy boy in the dark pink shirt. “ **Connie...** ” he gasped.   
The two fathers grinned at each other. “ **I told you they’d be okay.** ” Greg laughed, clapping a hand on Doug’s shoulder.   
Doug nodded, staring through the telescope again. “ **They** ** _are_** **outnumbered** **though** **...** ” he muttered.   
Greg sighed. “ **They've faced worse odds. And they’ll never let the kids get hurt.** ” he reached out and tapped Doug’s shoulder. “ **I paid for that telescope, by the way...** ” he hinted.   
Doug sighed and moved aside, giving Greg a chance to look at his son. 

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Priyanka watched, transfixed, as Connie, her smart, polite well-behaved Connie, jumped and ducked and ran circles around Gems twice her size whilst easily carrying the massive pink sword she had once confiscated. She felt a well of pride rising up, and despite her fear for her only child’s safety, she could only watch in awe. 

Suddenly, the two kids nodded at each other and held hands, and with a flash of light, a tall young woman with long dark brown hair stood there. She hefted the pink sword and a large pink shield flashed into existence on her arm as she ran towards her opponent.   
“ **Connie?** ” Priyanka gasped, confused. “ **Where... who... What?!** ” she stammered as the battle raged on. 

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Garnet grunted as the sword pierced her back, the tip poking through her chest. “ **Dammit!** ” she growled as her form disappeared in a puff of smoke revealing a grinning Tourmaline behind her.   
A small purple Gem went flying through the air, and she collided headfirst with a giant boulder, cracking it in two before she also disappeared.   
Stevonnie slashed at their opponent. “ **Garnet! Amethyst!** ”   
Another flash of light, and Stevonnie disappeared, the two kids falling to the ground with grunts.   
Connie jumped up. “ **You grab ‘** **em** **, I’ll watch your back.** ”   
Steven nodded. “ **Thanks!** ” he called as he ran forwards. 

He made it halfway across before a thin dark green Gem jumped into his path. “ **Gotcha!** ” she yelled triumphantly. Her fist swung down and forwards, slamming into his face with enough force to send him tumbling backwards, coming to a rest not far from Connie.   
“ **Steven!** ” the girl yelled, shielding her face from the flying sand. As she ran towards him, a burgundy coloured Gem grabbed her by the back of her shirt.   
The Gem grunted as Connie kicked and flailed. “ **Quit squirming** **, runt** **!** ” 

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Priyanka gasped and ran out of the pizza shop. “ **_Get your_ ** **_filthy_ ** **_hands off_ ** **_of_ ** **_my daughter!_ **” she yelled as she dashed towards the battle, a small pizza wheel her only weapon. 

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“ **Connie!** ” Pearl yelled, already racing towards the kids.   
The burgundy Gem grunted as Connie swung an elbow into her face. “ **I said, quit squirming** **ya** **little...** ” she raised her fist and brought it down on the girl’s head. 

Pearl growled as she slammed her spear into the Gem’s face. Connie fell limply to the ground, her hair damp from the blood now pouring from her head. 

A flash of light from the bottom of the cliff, and Amethyst returned. Immediately, she took in the scene and growled with fury at the two children lying unconscious on the sand. “ **You’re** **gonna** **pay for that, you** **_fucking arseholes!_ **” she yelled, summoning two whips from the dark purple gem set into her chest. 

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Priyanka ducked beneath a sword and swung the pizza wheel at the Gems’ knee. The silvery-grey Gem dropped her short sword as she howled with pain and started to hop on the other leg as Priyanka ran past her, her eyes focused only on her fallen daughter. 

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As Pearl stood protectively over Connie, fury burning in her eyes, she flung a spear towards a green Jasper as she summoned a fresh spear with the other hand.    
Behind her, the dark orange Gem raised her Disruptor with a grin as she took aim and flung it. 

Pearl twitched and groaned as the device made contact with her back. With a yelp, her form was dissipated, and her gem dropped to the sand beside Connie. 

“ **Pearl!** ” Amethyst yelled. Distracted, a dark yellow Citrine slipped in under a whip and as Amethyst turned towards her, the Citrine swung her mace. 

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With a short skid, Priyanka knees hit the sand beside Connie. “ **Connie,** **hone** **y... Connie?** ” she gently reached down and checked the girls' pulse, breathing a sigh of relief when she felt the steady and familiar presses against her fingertips.   
Looking around, she found herself surrounded by grinning Gems, and she bent over the injured girl. “ **Don’t you** ** _dare_** **touch my daughter...** ” she growled, brandishing the pizza wheel. 

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On the distant hilltop, Greg’s face paled. “ **Oh geez...** ”   
“ **What is it?** ” Doug asked as Greg pulled the telescope away.   
Greg held up a finger. “ **One second...** ” he muttered. 

He watched as, far away, a small vessel came out from the large ship. Three figures were picked up and carried into the hovering ship as other Gems bent down and picked up small objects.   
Greg sighed. “ **It's... not good, Doug...** ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gee, that’s an understatement... Give that man a perception award...


	2. Waking Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I was feeling kinda evil when I wrote this...
> 
> Welp, enjoy the suffering.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cell layout, for reference. 
> 
> [R][A][C] 
> 
> [St][P][S]

“ **My daughter needs medical attention...** ” Priyanka struggled, her head turning to keep the girl in view. “ **Please, she needs help!** ”   
She watched as the Gem carrying Connie dropped her inside a strangely shaped hole in the wall. A press of a button, and a yellow see-through wall came up.   
“ **No, wait! I need to be with her!** ” Priyanka struggled. The Gem dragging her along grunted and smacked her face, shoving her backwards into another cell. Priyanka jumped to her feet with a groan, the sharp pain in her face ignored as the Gem pressed a different sequence of buttons.   
Priyanka reached out and grabbed the thick bars that came down. “ **Please...** ” she sobbed, looking at Connie as the Gems paused before the other cells, raising more yellow walls up in front before they turned and walked away. 

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A few minutes later, she watched open-mouthed as the opposite cell filled with light and the short purple Gem appeared, her back toward her.   
Amethyst reached to summon another whip before she took in the green walls around her. “ **Crap...”** she groaned. “ **Not again...** ” She started pounding and kicking at the wall nearest to her. “ **Hey, you** **b** **astard** **s** **! Let me** **outta** **here! If you’ve hurt any of my friends, you’ll regret it!** ” 

A sniffing sound drew her attention, and she turned around. Her eyes widened at the sight of Priyanka, sitting hugging her knees behind the bars of the other cell, her face swollen and darkening with the beginnings of a bruise.   
“ **Whoa... Uh... You okay?** ” Amethyst stepped closer, keeping back from the force-shield.   
Priyanka shook her head. “ **No. Connie’s...** ”    
Amethyst followed the woman’s eyes. “ **She next to me?** ” she pointed to her left, and Priyanka nodded. “ **How does she look?** ”   
Priyanka shook her head. “ **Like she’s... dying...** ” her voice cracked, and she stifled another deep sob.   
Amethyst frowned. “ **Shit... Okay, um...** ” She looked around at the other cells. She could see Sapphire’s gem lying in the cell to one side of Priyanka, and Steven lying awkwardly on the floor in the other, his face puffy and bruised, with a cut on his cheek. “ **Uhh** **... Is there a red or a white gem in this cell here?** ” she pointed to her right. “ **It’s important.** ”   
Priyanka’s eyes darted briefly to the other cell before returning to Connie. “ **Red...** ”   
Amethyst sighed. “ **Okay... That’s Ruby... Fuck, what about Pearl? Do you see a white gem about-** ” she held up her hands “ **-this big,** **kinda** **shaped like an egg?** ”   
Priyanka shook her head. “ **I haven’t seen Pearl since she was electrocuted by that stick thing...** ” 

Amethyst groaned. “ **Fuck. If they’ve done anything to her...** ” she sat down with a grunt. Glancing up, she blushed. “ **Um, I promise, I don’t swear around the kids. It’s just... they’re both out cold, and it’s been one of** ** _those_** **days.** ”   
Priyanka sighed. “ **One of those days? You mean those days when aliens invade, almost kill your daughter that you haven’t seen in more than three weeks before dragging you into their ship and taking you god only knows where?** ” she laughed darkly.   
Amethyst shrugged. “ **Eh, you’d be surprised at how often this happen... It’s usually just Steven that they try to take. Or Greg that one time. You must have made them angry if they decided to snatch you up with us...** ”   
Priyanka shrugged. “ **All I did was** **slash one of them on the knee with a dirty pizza wheel...** ”   
Amethyst stared at her briefly before she burst out laughing. “ **Seriously? Oh man, now I know where Connie gets her** **badassery** **!** ”   
Priyanka blushed. “ **They were standing between me and my daughter. You’ll understand it when you have kids of your own.** ” 

“ **Pfft.** ” Amethyst snorted. “ **Dude, Gems don’t have kids. Steven’s just... an exception. Cause Rose was ca-** **raazy** **!** ” she laughed. “ **She got it into her head that she wanted to make a kid somehow. Or... be a kid? I** **dunno** **...** **But,** **she had to give him her gem so that he could exist. Rose went poof, Steven went** **waaa** **! Bam, Baby.** **Literally.** ”    
Priyanka shook her head. “ **No species can survive without some way to reproduce themselves.** ”   
Amethyst shrugged. “ **Yeah. But Gems don’t make more Gems like humans do. We grow in da ground, and pop out when we’re done. It wrecks the planet though...** ” she added sadly. “ **That’s why Rose, Pearl and Garnet fought a huge war, to stop any more Gems from being made on Earth, to protect it. I was the last to come out,** **cause** **I overcooked.** ” she fell silent for a moment, and then shrugged. “ **Anyways, Gems have sex, yeah, but we actually don’t need to do it. We just shapeshift and do it for fun.** ” she grinned. “ **Lotsa** **fun...** ” she winked.   
Priyanka stared, her face now burning. “ **That’s... Wow... I’m, not sure what to say about that...** ”   
“ **Eh.** ” Amethyst shrugged. “ **Don’t worry about it.** ” she looked at Priyanka’s bruised face. “ **Look, don’t worry about Connie, okay? She’s a tough kid. Tougher than you probably like to think. I mean, sure, she’s** **ya** **little girl and all, but... She’s a badass. Pearl’s been training her real good. I wouldn’t want to go one-on-one with her, that’s** **fo** **’ sure.** ” she shook her head. “ **Plus, Steven’s got healing powers. He fixed her eyes, so she doesn’t need glasses anymore, right?** **So** **he can fix** **whatevers** **wrong with her, once he wakes up. And he can take care of that nasty looking bruise** **ya** **got coming in there...** ”   
Priyanka lightly brushed her fingers across her face, wincing slightly at the touch. “ **I think my cheekbone might be broken...** ”   
“ **Steven can fix that, no worries.** ” Amethyst nodded confidently. 

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A short while later, a flash of light burst from the next cell, and with a yell, Ruby regenerated. Immediately, she summoned a gauntlet and started pounding on the walls of her cell. “ **Sapphire?! Where are you?!** ”   
Amethyst glanced over as Priyanka winced and held her head. “ **Ruby? Shut up. You're hurting Connie's mum. Her head’s probably pounding.** ”   
Ruby turned and looked at the woman with confusion. “ **What is she...?** ”   
Amethyst thumped gently on the wall dividing her from the small hot-tempered Gem, drawing her attention. “ **She got captured, same as us. Sapphire’s on the other side of her, you probably can’t see her from there. Connie’s on the other side of me, she’s hurt** **real** **bad...** ” she sighed. “ **And... I don’t know where Pearl is... She got** **poofed** **, but that’s all we know.** ”   
Ruby yelped as she pressed herself too close to the force-shield in an attempt to catch a glimpse of Sapphire. “ **Damn... How bad? Cause Steven doesn’t look too good either...** ”   
Priyanka looked over at Connie’s cell. “ **She... hasn’t woken up, since she got hit... She had a pulse, the last time they let me check...** ” she sighed. “ **But,** **that was before they dragged us in here...** ”   
Ruby sat down. “ **Shit...** ” she groaned. 

After a short moment of silence, Ruby sighed. “ **Steven?** ” she called softly, surprised Priyanka with the gentleness in the brash Gem’s tone.   
Priyanka glanced at the wall beside her. “ **How does he look? Can you see any obvious injuries?** ”   
“ **I** **dunno** **... His face is bruised, but that’s all I can see... He has a cut on his cheek, but I don’t see any other blood anywhere...** ” Ruby added quietly.   
Priyanka nodded. “ **I** **’m sure that** **I saw him get punched pretty hard, after you all... exploded?** ” she paused, glancing between them.   
Amethyst chuckled. “ **We call it** **poofing** **. Well, Steven calls it that,** **we** **call it dissipating... It usually only happens to me though. This is the first time I can remember** ** _Garnet_** **getting taken down before me...** ”   
“ **It’ll be the** ** _last_** **time, too...** ” Ruby grumbled, crossing her arms.   
Priyanka looked from side to side. “ **Where is Garnet, anyway? I didn’t see her being brought in...** ”   
Ruby and Amethyst seemed to glance at each other, despite the wall between them.   
“ **Oh, she’s around...** ” Amethyst sighed. “ **She’s just... taking a nap or something...** ” she waved a hand dismissively as Ruby rolled her eyes. “ **Anyway, Steven’s pretty tough too. He** ** _is_** **half Gem** **ya** **know... He’s already survived falls and stuff that’d kill most adults, and he’s only gotten a bruise from it.** ” 

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Amethyst looked over and sighed. “ **Hey, Ruby? No shouting, but Sapphire’s coming back.** ”   
Priyanka saw the red Gem scramble to her feet, her expression hopeful.   
A gentle calm voice came from the cell to Priyanka’s right. “ **I’m okay, Ruby. Are you hurt?** ”   
Ruby shook her head furiously. “ **No!** ”   
“ **I’m glad.** ” The voice responded.    
Amethyst rolled her eyes. “ **Hey, Sapphire? Just a recap. Connie’s hurt, Steven’s out cold, and Connie's mum is** **here** **.** ” Amethyst pointed at the cell opposite her. “ **She’s next to you,** **Ruby’s beside me,** **and** **Steven’s opposite her.** ”   
Sapphire nodded. “ **I understand. Hello, Doctor Maheswaran. I regret the circumstances that have introduced us. Unfortunately, these things... happen.** ”   
Priyanka nodded. “ **I’m starting to get that** **general feeling** **, yes...** ”   
“ **I assure you, we normally do everything in our,** ** _considerable_** **power, to keep the children out of direct danger. However, recent events have forced their involvement more than any of us would like... Including the attack that destroyed the warp system and lead to our current situation.** ” Priyanka heard the woman in the next cell sigh. “ **Unfortunately, this is the future that** **was so unlikely, I didn’t even see it as a possibility... For one thing, I never considered the thought that you might also be captured.** ”   
A groan drew their attention, and Priyanka’s eyes shot towards Connie.   
“ **Steven?** ” Ruby asked softly, her face as close to the force-shield as she dared. 

Steven sat up, holding his face as he moaned. “ **Ugh... that hurts...** ” he muttered. Placing one hand on the wall beside him, he leveraged himself up, stumbling to his feet.   
“ **Steven, buddy?** ” Amethyst called gently. “ **You okay?** ”   
Steven groaned and leaned against the wall. As the two concerned Gems watched, he slid down and slumped onto the floor.   
“ **He’s out again...** ” Amethyst sighed as she looked at Priyanka.   
Priyanka sighed as she held her own head. “ **Without being able to see him, I can’t say for certain... But with the** **punch that** **I saw him take,** **I'm amazed that he’s even** ** _alive_** **... At the very** ** _least_** **, he likely has a serious concussion.** ”   
Amethyst glanced over at Steven’s cell. “ **That’s bad for humans, right?** ”   
“ **Yes, it can be...** ” Priyanka sighed. “ **It can mean he’s suffered a mild brain injury... at** **the bare minimum** **...** ”   
Ruby looked at Priyanka with concern. “ **He has healing powers though. He can fix this...** ” she stared back at Steven with her fists clenched. “ **He can fix this.** ” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will Connie be okay? Where's Pearl? Will Steven wake up in time to hear Amethyst swearing?
> 
> See you next weekend.


	3. Repairs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey, did you enjoy the suffering?

** THE NEXT DAY... **

Priyanka held onto the bars, sobbing. Connie’s breathing was more and more laboured, and she knew, not just through her medical training, but through instinct, that her daughter was slipping away.

“ **Uuuuughhhhh** **...** ” Steven groaned, sitting up. His face was throbbing painfully, and he blinked slightly, finding that his left eye was swollen shut. He licked his palm and gently pressed it to his face, feeling the now familiar tingling as it healed.   
“ **Steven?** ”   
He looked to the side and saw Ruby, standing in the opposite cell, her eyes tearing with concern. “ **I’m okay...** ” he responded.   
Ruby glanced off to the side. “ **Steven... Connie’s hurt really bad. She needs you, now.** ”

Steven jumped to his feet, stumbling slightly. He placed a hand on the wall nearby to steady himself as a wave of dizziness quickly rose and passed. He blinked for a moment as spots danced in front of his eyes, but another quick palm of spit to his forehead and his vision cleared. “ **Where is she?** ”   
Amethyst draw his attention and pointed to her left. “ **The cell next to** **me.** **Hurry dude.** ”   
Steven nodded and started forcing his body through the force-shield, the strange sensation filling his body as his veins lit up brightly.   
“ **Hey!** ” a voice shouted as he pushed through and stood in the hallway.

Steven turned and spotted a large greyish-green Gem stomping towards him. He quickly looked back and spotted another one, almost identical, glaring at him from the other end of the hallway.   
“ **How did you get out! Damned humans...** ” Before Steven could move, the Gem grabbed him and flung him back into the cell, pressing the nearby keypad.   
“ **No!** ” Steven jumped to his feet and dashed forwards, but the bars slammed down, blocking his escape.   
“ **You don’t understand!** ”   
“ **The girl’s hurt, he needs to heal her!** ”   
“ **Please let him out!** ”   
The Gem ignored their pleas and stomped back to her guard post at the end of the hallway.   
As the angry Gems screamed abuse in various languages at the guards, Priyanka sobbed.

" **Quiet everybody.** ” Sapphire said calmly. “ **Connie’s moving...** ”   
Priyanka scrambled to her knees, clutching the bars desperately. “ **Connie, honey? Talk to me baby...** ”   
Connie groaned, rolling over slightly. Reaching to her head, she stared at the smear of blood on her hand. Her hand fell back down to her chest, and after a moment, she reached under her shirt.   
Priyanka and Sapphire watched as Connie removed a small white stone.   
“ **Connie has Pearl.** ” Sapphire called to Amethyst, who sighed with relief.   
“ **Thank the stars... She okay?** ”   
Sapphire watched as Connie placed the gem on the floor beside her, passing out soon after. “ **Pearl, yes. Connie... no...** ”

The gem glowed and rose up, and after a brief moment, Pearl dropped to the floor. Reaching up, she made to pull another spear from her gem before her eyes widened. “ **Dammit!** ” she yelled.   
“ **My sentiments exactly.** ” Sapphire nodded. “ **Connie needs help.** ”   
Pearl gasped, and looked around. Seeing Connie behind her, she quickly knelt and placed a hand gently on the girls' neck. “ **Connie?** ” she paused for a moment. “ **I feel a pulse... Its weak, but it’s there... Steven?!** ”   
“ **There’s bars on my cell,** ** _I can’t get out!_** ” he sobbed, using all of his strength to pull and shake the bars. But they held firm.   
Pearl glanced back at Priyanka, her eyes widening with surprise. Reaching up, she pulled a strange device from her gem, holding it over Connie’s head. A small light burst from the bottom, scanning the girl. Pearl moved to block Priyanka’s view as the device displayed a small hologram of Connie’s skull. 

Pearl frowned as she saw the damage. She pressed a small button on the front, and the image shifted to that of Connie’s brain. Pearl shuddered. “ **Right... That’s... this is bad... Uh... I can fix this...** ” she sighed. “ ** _Please let me be able to fix this..._** ” she added with a whisper.   
Priyanka watched as Pearl summoned a small wooden box, a glass jar full of water, and a roll of paper towels. As Pearl opened the box, Priyanka gasped as she saw a collection of neatly lined up and gleaming surgical tools.    
Pearl glanced back again. “ **Everyone, I need absolute silence and concentration, okay?** ” she waited for their confirmations before she unscrewed the lid of the jar and removed a scalpel from the box.

Pearl carefully sliced away a section of Connie’s scalp, peeling it back before using a clip to hold it in place. She gently reached in and pulled a piece of skull out before she selected a small eyedropper and collected some of the water. She squirted several splashes onto Connie's brain, pausing between each one to rescan with the device as the water absorbed into the organ. Nodding, Pearl then carefully started to lift up pieces of skull, carefully setting them into place before trickling a small amount of water along the joins. The bone matted together, forming scar tissue over the breaks.   
Finally, Pearl picked up the scanner, giving the girl another scan. After a moment, she sighed, and carefully placed the scalp back over, sealing it with more water.

Pearl sighed. “ **Okay... that’s the best I can do. We just have to hope that it’s enough...** ”   
Priyanka watched as Pearl used the paper towels to carefully mop up the area, removing the fresh blood from around Connie's head. She then gently wiped as much blood from the girls’ face as possible, tossing the used towels into the far corner of the cell.   
Finally, Pearl sighed and sat down beside Connie’s head, removing a small spray bottle from the box before she started to meticulously clean and sterilise the tools she had used.   
“ **Is... Is she okay?** ” Priyanka whispered.   
Pearl glanced up. Reaching down, she gently checked Connie’s pulse and smiled. “ **Her pulse is stronger than before.** ” placing a hand on the girls’ back, she paused. “ **Yes, her heart is definitely beating stronger. She’s slowly coming back. I believe that she just needs to rest right now.** ”

Priyanka released a breath she hadn’t realised she’d been holding. “ **How did you...** ”   
Pearl shrugged as she sprayed the scalpel with disinfectant. “ **I always carry a jar of Rose’s tears from the fountain for emergencies. And I have... prior experience, piecing humans back together. I know that as her mother, you simply cannot help but see her as a helpless little girl, but Connie is** ** _far_** **stronger than you would believe; she has survived** ** _my_** **training, after all. She will be fine.** ” she added as she closed the box and stored it away, sending the jar in shortly after.

** A FEW HOURS LATER... **

Connie groaned and rolled over, one arm reaching up to rub her eyes.   
Pearl gently helped her sit up before summoning a bottle of water, twisting the cap off easily. “ **Connie, please drink the entire thing, okay? Small sips at a time.** ”   
She waited as the girl nodded, raising the bottle to her lips.   
Pearl glanced over as she summoned another two bottles, along with the jar. She quickly opened them, pouring a small amount of fountain water into each bottle before putting the cap back on. “ **Here.** ” she nodded, rolling the bottle through the yellow wall toward Priyanka. “ **There’s some healing water in there...** ”   
Priyanka quickly snatched the bottle and pulled it through the bars, almost yanking the cap off before taking a long gulp. She felt the pain in her face fade away, and gently, she poked her cheek, amazed.   
Pearl waited as the woman caught her breath. “ **I’m going to roll another one over to you. Toss it over to Amethyst.** ”   
Priyanka nodded, quickly grabbing the bottle and sending it tumbling towards Amethyst.   
Amethyst waited until it had passed through the force-shield before she grabbed it with a look of confusion. “ **Uh, Pearl?** ”   
“ **Roll it to Steven.** ”   
Amethyst blushed. “ **Oh! Right... Here kiddo.** ”   
As the bottle rolled, they heard the stomping of the guard, and Steven quickly grabbed it, pulling it through the bars just as the guard appeared.   
She glared down at him.   
“ **We need this to live.** ” he said, taking a long drink as he stared at her defiantly.   
The guard growled and turned, stomping back to her post.

Connie stared across at her mother. “ **Mother, what... what are you doing here?** ”   
Priyanka looked at her tearfully. “ **What, I see you getting punched in the head, and you don’t think I’d run to you?** ”   
A snicker from the next cell drew everyone's attention. “ **She sliced someone’s knee with a** **janky** **ol** **’** **pizza wheel to get to** **ya** **...** ” Amethyst grinned.   
Ruby started laughing. “ **What?! Oh man!** ”   
“ **Pfft...** ” Pearl covered her mouth, the wide grin still evident. “ **Ooh... Nice one.** ”   
Connie stared at Priyanka, open-mouthed. “ **That was... surprisingly reckless of you...** ”   
Priyanka snorted. “ **Connie, you don’t know what I did when I was young. And they were standing between me and my injured daughter. Hippocratic oath be damned.** ”   
Pearl shrugged. “ **Well, technically, that oath only really applies to humans. And Gems are not humans, so it doesn’t actually count as breaking your oath.** ”    
Priyanka crossed her arms. “ **Good. Because when I see that bitch again, I'm going to start removing her organs.** ** _One. By. One_** **.** ” she glared.   
Connie leaned towards Pearl. “ **Should we tell her that Gems don’t actually...** ” she whispered.   
“ **Have organs? No, let her have her fun.** ” Pearl rolled her eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See? I'm not completely evil.  
> Just a little cruel, is all


	4. Consultation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Getting some legal advice.

As the Blue Zircon came through the door, she grumbled. “ **Okay, I can do this... This won’t be like the last trial. Nothing could ever go** ** _that_** **badly again...** ” she laughed as she entered the area where her clients were being detained. Opening her eyes, she looked at the first one.   
“ **Hi.** ” Steven waved at her. “ **I’m glad that you didn’t get** **shattered** **cause of me...** ”   
Blue Zircon stared. “ **No... Oh no... Not you again. Please...** **Anybody but Rose Quartz...** ” she groaned, dropping her head into her hands. “ ** _Why is it always me?!_** _”_ she moaned.   
“ **Friend of yours?** ” Amethyst pointed at the sobbing Gem.   
Steven shrugged. “ **She was my Zircon the last time I got put on trial.** ”   
Pearl came close to the force-shield and peered down the hallway. “ **It’s safe to assume that she’s here for the same reason.** ”

Blue Zircon sniffed sadly as she gathered herself. “ **Okay, you are a professional. You can do this.** ” Nodding, she looked at each of them in turn. “ **I’ll be your representation during the trial.** ” She paused as she looked at Priyanka before her eyes darted towards Connie. “ **However, the humans have no actual charges against them... You are considered to be evidence of Rose Quartz’s crimes, and will be transported to the Human Zoo for preservation after the trial.** ”   
Turning, she returned to Steven. “ **Speaking of charges... Rose Quartz’s charges remain the same, with an extra charge of escaping before sentencing during her previous trial...** ” she glared at him. “ **... and one of destroying a Diamond’s personal Palanquin during the escape.** ”   
Steven smiled nervously. “ **What if I said sorry for that?** ”   
“ ** _It’s too late to say sorry!_** ” Blue Zircon yelled, as Steven shrunk back. Blue Zircon rubbed her long nose, muttering under her breath.

Blue Zircon turned and looked in at Amethyst. “ **Now, I’ll begin with the defective Amethyst...** ” she flipped through her screens, ignoring the glare from the purple Gem before her. “ **… We... have no data about you at all.** ” she looked at her with confusion.   
“ **Amethyst wasn’t involved in the war. She emerged after it was over. She's innocent.** ” Pearl spoke up, a glare on her face. “ **And she is** ** _not_** **defective.** ”   
“ **The Diamonds will be the judge of that.** ” Blue Zircon sniffed. She stepped over and looked at Ruby. “ **Ruby Facet 9 Cut 74SA... You are charged with illicit fusion, open rebellion, excessive acts of public affection and escaping from custody before a sentence could be carried out.** ”   
“ **Fusing, fighting, smooching and running.** ” Pearl clarified, sensing the confusion on her friends faces.   
Ruby laughed. “ **Yep, sounds like me.** ”   
“ **Take this seriously!** ” Blue Zircon snapped, fuming as she walked towards Sapphire. “ **Ugh, Rubies... Ahem...** ” she cleared her throat. “ **Your Clarity, Sapphire Facet 7, Cut 49RU... You are** **unfortunately** **charged with illicit fusion, open rebellion, excessive acts of public affection, and aiding and abetting a condemned criminal in her escape.** ”   
Sapphire nodded. “ **I wouldn’t take back a minute of it.** ” she smiled.

Blue Zircon sighed as she turned around. “ **As for the pearl... Normally, a pearl isn’t held accountable for its actions, as it’s more likely that it was following its owners' orders. However,** ” she looked at Pearl. “ **You were clearly seen as not having an owner, and were witnessed blatantly disregarding even Rose Quartz's orders.** ”   
Pearl shrugged. “ **So?** ”   
Blue Zircon brought up a screen. “ **So, it has been decided that an exception will be made for you. You will be charged with...** ” Her eyes widened as she read through the strange twisting script, flicking through to a second page, and then a third.   
Connie glanced up at Pearl. The thin Gem’s mouth was twisted into a smirk, and with a glance down, she winked at Connie.   
Blue Zircon looked at her, horrified. “ **... Your charges are... too numerous to... Wow...** ” she stammered.   
Pearl merely smiled serenely at her.

Blue Zircon started pacing up and down the hallway. “ **Okay, I don’t have enough time here today to go through all of them... I’ll have to summarise for now...** ” Nodding, she returned to stand in front of Pearl and Connie’s cell. “ **Okay, your summarised charges are thusly: illicit fusion; open rebellion; being a pearl in possession of a weapon; using said weapon against** **your** **superiors; illegally summoning a weapon; murder; sabotage; and being an unpossessed pearl.** ”   
The hallway fell silent. Amethyst stared towards Pearl’s cell in shock.   
Ruby started chuckling as Sapphire began to giggle.   
Pearl grinned smugly. “ **Yeah, I've had some fun.** ”

“ **We’re all** **gonna** **be shattered...** ” muttered Blue Zircon with a shake of her head at the rebels' flippant attitude.   
The guards at the end of the hallway spoke up. “ **Time’s up, Zircon!** ”   
She glanced over. “ **Fine! Because of the sheer... volume, of the charges against the pearl alone, the trial is in two rotations. I shall return tomorrow to discuss your cases in more detail. Starting with the Amethyst.** ”   
Shaking her head, she walked away. “ **Why in the stars names do I always get the impossible cases?** ” she groaned. “ **My Diamond must hate me...** ”

As soon as the door had slid shut behind the depressed Zircon, the hallway erupted with noise.   
“ **Whoa... Pearl, you are a** ** _badass_** **!** ” Amethyst grinned wildly. “ **I mean, I know** **ya** **said that you’ve been a criminal for six thousand years, but... Hot damn,** **ya** **know?** ”   
Ruby laughed. “ **Yeah. Why do** **ya** **think half the rebellion wanted to smooch her?** ”   
“ **The other half was scared to** ** _shards_** **of her.** ” Sapphire giggled, grinning at Connie.   
Pearl gave a short bow, smiling sweetly. “ **Well, they didn’t call me the** ** _Terrifying Renegade Pearl_** **for no reason.** ” she shrugged. “ **It wasn’t** ** _only_** **because the idea that a pearl** ** _could_** **go rogue was terrifying...** ”

Steven, who had been quiet, finally spoke up. “ **Pearl?** ”   
“ **Hmm? Yes Steven?** ” Pearl called out.   
“ **...What did she mean? She said you... one of your charges is... murder...** ”   
The group fell silent, and Pearl’s smile faded.   
Connie watched as Pearl looked away, her eyes darkened.   
“ **It was war, Steven. Violent, terrible, vicious warfare. Sometimes... we didn’t have a choice. It was... shatter, or** ** _be_** **shattered.** ” she sighed as she shifted to lean against the wall. “ **If there’s one thing humans have gotten right... it was the realisation that war is indeed hell.** ” she chuckled darkly. “ **And most humans only spend a few years fighting at the most. I spent one** ** _thousand_** **years of my life with a weapon in my hand, trying to survive on a battlefield that I was** ** _never_** **supposed to be** ** _anywhere_** **near. Because pearls do** ** _not_** **fight. We are** ** _not_** **soldiers. We're not** ** _supposed_** **to be anywhere** ** _near_** **a battle, except as observers, standing on a hilltop away from the actual fighting. I was not** ** _made_** **to fight.** **But,** **I did. Longer than anyone else. I was the** ** _very_** **_first_** **Crystal Gem.** ”    
Pearl shook her head. “ **And after all of that, there is** ** _no way_** **that I am giving up. There won’t be a trial, because we won’t be here.** ”   
“ **We won’t?** ” Amethyst asked.   
“ **No.** ” Pearl pushed away from the wall. “ **Because no jail can hold a Crystal Gem. We’re** ** _busting_** **out of here.** ” Pearl grinned down at Connie. “ **Connie dear? If you’re feeling better, can you** **please** **help me get out of this cell?** ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's gonna be a jailbreak...
> 
>  
> 
> See ya next weekend.


	5. Four Seconds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> That's all it takes...

With a cautious glance towards the ends of the hallway, Pearl lowered her voice. “ **Connie, humans aren’t affected by these shields.** ” she said, nodding at the yellow wall. “ **They were only designed to keep Gems in. The bars** **-** ” she pointed over at Priyanka’s cell, “ **-** **were the obvious answer for biological beings. You're the only human here who isn’t caged, so you’re the only one who can possibly free any of us.** ”   
Connie nodded. “ **Okay. What do I have to do?** ”   
Pearl raised her right arm above her head and bent it. “ **Hold your arm like this, in the shield. That will block it so I can safely pass through underneath. Once the guards are subdued, I can let everyone else out. You can just step out.** ”   
“ **Yes ma’am.** ” Connie nodded. 

Connie waited as Pearl summoned a short sword. She calmly took the offered sheath as Pearl nodded. “ **Okay.** ”   
With a moment of hesitation, Connie stuck her arm into the shield, blocking it. “ **Huh... feels warm** **.** ”   
Pearl ducked under her arm, stepping into the hallway.   
“ **Hey! How did you...** ” The two guards glared at her from each side. 

Pearl looked between them. “ **Come on then, if you’re Gem enough to handle one** **measly** **little pearl...** ”   
The two Gems summoned their weapons, a truncheon and a dagger, before they put on a burst of speed, rushing towards her.   
Pearl stood there, smiling calmly.   
As the two guards drew close, she suddenly leapt straight up, flattening herself against the ceiling as she planted her feet on each wall of the hallway.   
The two guards collided with a grunt, looking up in surprise.   
Pearl dropped down, stabbing them each in quick succession with a grin.   
Standing, Pearl collected their Gems before pressing a sequence of buttons on the small pad beside Sapphire’s cell. With a slight whoosh, the shield dropped, and Pearl tossed the two defeated guards in as Sapphire stepped out.   
“ **Hmm, four seconds. A new personal record.** ” Pearl mused as she brought the shield back up, trapping the two guards inside. 

Sapphire rushed over to Ruby’s cell as Pearl pressed the control pad, releasing Priyanka.   
She immediately ran past Pearl, running through the shield to hug Connie desperately. “ **Are you okay?! Let me see your eyes.** ” she demanded.   
“ **Muuuummmm** **...** ” Connie moaned. “ **I’m okay...** ”   
Priyanka hugged her. “ **You almost... I almost lost you...** ” she whispered, her eyes moist.   
Pearl glanced over as she released Amethyst. “ **If I ever see that Tiger’s Eye again...** ” she muttered with a shake of her head.   
“ **Pearl.** ” Sapphire drew her attention. “ **... I don’t know how...** ” she indicated the control panel.   
Pearl rolled her eyes. “ **Upper crusts never do...** ” she smirked, pressing the necessary sequence. “ **If it wasn’t for their pearls, the** ** _Diamonds_** **would be trapped in their rooms...** ”   
Amethyst was still standing in her cell, her face flushed and eyes wide as she stared at Pearl. “ **Marry me...** ” she whispered, unheard. 

As the shield fell, Sapphire leapt into the cell, tackling Ruby with a small squeal.   
As Pearl shook her head with amusement and removed the bars on his cell, Steven covered his eyes with a blush. “ **Oh geez...** ”   
“ **You get used to it.** ” Pearl sighed. “ **It might take five thousand years, but...** ” she glanced back at them and frowned. “ **Remember, there’s children present...** ”   
“ **Understood!** ”   
“ **Got it!** ”   
Pearl ran a hand down her face and sighed deeply before she looked back down at Steven. “ **Are you okay?** ” she asked, kneeling down to check him over. “ **You did take a nasty hit...** ”   
Steven nodded. “ **Yeah, I healed myself** **, and the water with** **mums'** **tears made me feel a lot better** **. I tried to get out, but they threw me back in...** ” he added with a glance towards Connie, one hand still raised to block his view of the opposite cell.   
“ **That's understandable. Connie’s okay. I patched her up.** ” Pearl smiled.   
Steven wrapped her in a hug. “ **Good.** ” 

As Priyanka and Connie stepped out of the cell, there was a flash of light.   
Pearl rolled her eyes. “ **Welcome back, Garnet.** ”   
Garnet phased her sunglasses on as she stepped out, smiling. “ **Glad to be back.** ” she reached down and picked Steven up, hugging him. “ **It means I can do this.** ”   
Steven giggled as he returned the hug.   
Priyanka eyes were wide as she stared in confusion.   
Pearl sighed. “ **Well, if everyone’s okay...** ” she walked over and collected her scabbard from Connie, sheathing the sword before she tied the attached belt to her waist. “ **Right, let’s get out of here, shall we?** ” 

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As the group cautiously crept along the hallways, they passed other doors. Pearl quickly opened them and glanced inside before closing them with a shake of her head. “ **Why would** **the cells would have this many storage closets** **?** **...** **I don’t even know...** ” she muttered before leading them on. 

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“ **Shhh** **...** ” Pearl held up a hand, a small frown on her face. “ **Someone's coming... In here...** ” She opened the nearest door and waved them in, quickly slipping in after them and closing the door.   
Outside, they heard the small sounds of footsteps coming nearer. Pearl stood just inside the door, her entire form almost vibrating with anticipation. The footsteps paused outside the door, the humans holding their breaths. 

As the door slid open, Pearl struck, rushing forwards and grabbing the Gem with a hand on their mouth muffling their squeak. With her elbow, she tapped the button, closing the door and pitching them into darkness. 

In the darkness, the smallest muffled sob. Pearl’s gem light up softly, providing a small amount of light. She glanced at the pale-yellow pearl shaking in her arms and sighed. “ **Sorry...** ” she whispered, releasing her and stepping back. “ **We need to be quiet.** ” she added.   
The pearl nervously pressed herself against the wall, nodding furiously. Fearfully, she glanced around the room at everyone, her eyes finally settling on Pearl. Her mouth dropped open. “ **You... You're the Renegade.** ” she whispered, eyes wide. 

Pearl nodded. “ **The same. My friends and I are getting out of here. Possible exits?** ”   
The other pearl nodded and created a hologram from her gem, which was embedded in her sternum. It showed a series of hallways, a line leading to a door. “ **That level has long been forgotten. There’s a hidden entrance to a series of tunnels behind the rear shelves. It will give you access to almost anywhere on** **Homeworld** **. Some areas may have... collapsed, but it’s** **far** **safer for you than the surface.** ”    
Pearl studied the image intently for a moment, committing it to memory before she finally nodded. “ **Okay, got it. Thank you. I’m sorry for scaring you...** ” she blushed.   
The pearl nodded. “ **Understandable... Forgiven.** ”   
Pearl smiled. “ **You didn’t see us.** ”   
The other pearl raised her hand, covering her eyes briefly before she picked up a nearby small box from a shelf, turned and slipped out of the storage room. 

“ **How do** **ya** **know she won’t go blabbing?** ” Amethyst whispered.   
Pearl shrugged. “ **I guess you could call it the Pearl Code. Pearls have it tough enough with our owners. So, we don’t tend to think about stabbing each other in the back. We help each other out when we can. Even if it means going against our owners wishes, or risking being shattered ourselves. She’ll keep quiet, believe me. She wouldn’t be a pearl if she couldn’t keep a secret. Now, come on, we need to find those tunnels.** ” She listened at the door briefly before finally slipping out, motioning for them to follow her. 

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Pearl lead the way through the maze of hallways before she paused in front of a door. As they slipped in, the door closed behind them and the room was lit up by the light of Pearl’s gem. “ **Garnet,** **Amethyst** **... help me shift this...** ” she pointed towards the shelves at the back of the room.   
After they moved it forwards slightly, Pearl glanced behind and nodded. “ **Okay, we’re about to enter the tunnels...** ” she whispered.   
As the group carefully sidled through the narrow gap, Pearl lit the way. Finally, she slipped through after them before instructing Garnet to carefully pull the shelves back again. 

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After descending for what felt like hours in near darkness, they entered an open space with several other tunnels leading away. A thick layer of dust coated the ground, and on the wall were faded murals, the colours of blue, yellow and white barely visible through millennia of decay and neglect.   
Pearl walked around and looked down each tunnel nervously. “ **Okay... I have** ** _no idea_** **where to go from here, her map didn’t cover any further than the entrance to this place... but I’m sure that I can figure it out.** ”   
Turning, she paused with concern. Priyanka, Steven and Connie were leaning against the wall, exhaustion clear.   
A loud rumbled sounded, and Priyanka held her stomach with a blush. “ **I... never did get to finish that tin of pineapple...** ”   
Pearl gasped. “ **Oh! I’m sorry! I forgot that it’s been a few days... Uh... One moment, please.** ” 

As they watched, open mouthed, Pearl held out her right hand, and with a flicking motion, she started moving it in a circle. As if a gust of wind had rushed through the area, the dust on the floor lifted, streaming through the air in thick clumps as it gathered in the centre of the room. The dust spun into a large ball, and once it had absorbed a large portion of the dust, Pearl clenched her hand. The dust suddenly compressed down into a hard ball the size of a basketball, and with a sigh, Pearl flicked her hand, sending the ball flying off into a tunnel and out of sight. 

“ **Right, now that’s taken care of...** ” Pearl stepped forward, summoning a table and some plates.   
Priyanka stared, amazed. “ **That... was... wow...** ” she trailed off.   
“ **I know.** ” Connie nodded as Pearl started to prepare a simple meal.   
Steven was starry-eyed, hunger temporarily forgotten. “ **Pearl is** ** _amazing_** **...** ”   
“ **She’s** ** _such_** **a show-off...** ” Amethyst sighed, her cheeks tinted.     
Garnet nodded. “ **She has her moments.** ” she grinned. 

After eating their meal, the humans settled down and soon drifted off to sleep. Pearl shook her head, and turned away.   
“ **Pearl?** ”   
She glanced back. “ **I’m just going to explore a little, try to figure out which way we should go next.** ”   
Amethyst nodded. “ **Need company?** ”   
“ **Okay.** ” Pearl smiled. “ **Garnet, watch over them until we get back?** ”   
Garnet gave a quick thumbs up. “ **We're clear.** ” 

Pearl frowned. “ **Well, this tunnel isn’t much good so far...** ” she huffed.   
Amethyst shrugged. “ **Yeah... not even a map with ‘** ** _You Are Here_** **’ on it... and a big honking** **flashing** **arrow...** ”   
“ **I wish it were that easy...** ” Pearl sighed.   
Amethyst glanced up at her. “ **On the plus side... There's privacy...** ”   
“ **Pfft.** ” Pearl snorted. “ **Amethyst... Keep your voice down.** ” she whispered. “ **Tunnels tend to echo. Besides, you are far too loud for us to get away with that here...** ” she added with a blush.   
Amethyst grinned as she buried her burning face in Pearl’s chest. “ **Yeah... I didn’t hear you complaining before.** ”   
Pearl chuckled as she wrapped her arms around the shorter gem. “ **Because strawberries don’t have ears... Or mouths to tell anyone what they heard.** ”   
Amethyst stifled a laugh. “ **They do on Steven’s weird breakfast show.** ”   
“ ** _Mercifully_** **, we don’t live in that** ** _bizarre_** **version of reality.** ” Pearl muttered, bending down to kiss Amethyst on the forehead. “ **But once we’re back on Earth, and** **have started fixing the warp system, and** **everything is settled... We are** ** _definitely_** **warping somewhere** **private** **.** ”   
Amethyst blushed. “ **Ooh,** **wanna** **defile another warp pad, eh?** ” she briefly shapeshifted eyebrows and wiggled them.   
Pearl quickly covered her mouth, stifling a laugh. “ **Oh, we may have to** ** _burn_** **it and walk home by the time I’m done with you...** ” she smirked. “ **That is, of course, assuming that you** ** _can_** **walk...** ” she grinned as Amethyst’s face flushed darkly.   
“ **Peaarrlll** **...** **Stoooopppp** **...** ” she whined, burying her face again as the thin Gem chuckled into the top of her head. 

 

 **THE NEXT DAY...**  

“ **Okay, I’ve been thinking options. Namely, on how to return to Earth.** ” Pearl started as Priyanka and the kids dug into bowls of instant porridge. “ **There aren’t many options, unfortunately... and they are all risky... but at this point, they’re the only choices we seem to have.** ”   
Connie nodded. “ **Okay, shoot.** ”   
Pearl held up a finger. “ **Okay... Plan A: We find a tunnel that gets us as close as possible to a spaceport. We steal a ship, I fly us back to Earth... maybe pick up Steven’s friends from last time along the way...** ” she sighed. “ **The risks with Plan A are: By now, our escape has been noticed. At the very least, all ways** **offworld** **will be heavily guarded to prevent us from leaving the planet. Which means we’ll likely have to fight our way through a large group of battle-ready Gems to get anywhere** ** _close_** **to a ship. We risk being recaptured, maybe even shattered during the fight. You three risk being killed.** ” she nodded at the three humans. 

After a moment, she continued, raising a second finger.   
“ **Plan B: We use the tunnels to get close to the Galaxy Warp, make a dash for it, and try to warp to a colony. With luck, we can reach one with low security, where we can then steal a ship and go back to Earth.** ”   
Amethyst nodded. “ **Downsides?** ”   
Pearl sighed heavily. “ **Numerous. For starters, once again, the Galaxy Warp will be heavily guarded, leaving us to fight our way through. On top of that...** ” she drummed her fingers on the table. “ **My knowledge of the colonies is more than five thousand years out-of-date... What I remember as being a minor colony might be highly populated by now. Or it could be abandoned, with no ships available at all, except for obsolete piles of junk...** ” she groaned. “ **And that’s not even starting on the fact that a fully formed Gem colony is a non-survivable habitat for humans. We** **woul** **d likely warp to a world without a breathable atmosphere. Plus, even if we make it that far, there’s a chance that someone will see which world we went to, and will follow us... If we pick the wrong w** **arp** **, we could find ourselves stranded, facing a large group of enemy Gems, who just need to camp at that colony’s Galaxy Warp** **s** **until we return. Which bring us back to shattering, and or death...** ” she huffed. “ **Basically, everything wrong with Plan A, and then some.** ” 

The group fell silent.   
“ **Those...** ** _really_** **aren’t good options...** ” Connie sighed.   
Steven glanced at Pearl. “ **Is there a Plan C?** ” he asked hopefully.   
“ **Yeah, or whichever letter doesn’t end horribly? Cause** **everyone knows that** **the first few plans** ** _never_** **work.** ” Amethyst added.   
Pearl shrugged and raised a third finger. “ **Plan C is this. We spend time gathering information, to figure out more options. Maybe find some allies who are willing to help us. After all, Steven was here for what... five minutes?... after he escaped the trial. And he found a group of off-colours to help him.** ” she rolled her eyes. “ **There’s** ** _bound_** **to be more. We can offer them a ride to Earth and freedom in exchange for their help.** **However** **... This does put us at risk as well. The Gems we find might betray us, lead us into a trap or an ambush in exchange for whatever reward is being offered for our capture. Probably a pearl of their own...** ” she added with a mutter. 

She added another finger. “ **Plan D: This is basically just a rework of plan A that might** ** _actually_** **work. We plant explosives in key locations. Then, we get in position near a spaceport before we set off the explosives. They create a distraction, the guards go to investigate the** ** _obvious_** **act of Crystal Gem sabotage, and we slip in, grab a ship, and go back to Earth.** ”   
Steven frowned. “ **But... what if someone gets hurt? I don’t** **wanna** **blow anybody up, Pearl...** ”   
Connie nodded. “ **Yeah... Besides, where are we** **gonna** **get explosives?** ”   
Pearl glanced at Garnet with a grin. “ **I... may have some in my gem, left over from the war...** ” she smirked. “ ** _Someone_** **responsible had to look after them.** ”   
“ **Even if that someone was the one** ** _most_** **likely to be tempted to use them** **...** ” Garnet chuckled.   
Pearl huffed. “ **Quiet, you...** ” she blushed.  

Glancing at Steven, she sighed. “ **Honestly... Plan D is most likely to work. But all the plans have one major problem in common, that we’ll need to find a way to avoid.** ”   
“ **Which is?** ” Amethyst prompted.   
Pearl sighed. “ **There's a fair chance that the Diamonds will just assume that we’ll head back to Earth. Even if it’s because a sapphire told them when they can find us there. So regardless of which plan** ** _actually_** **works, we could make it back** ** _just_** **to be recaptured. They won’t make the same mistake again. Next time, all the cells with have shields** ** _and_** **bars. We will be put on trial, and likely sentenced to be shattered for our crimes against** **Homeworld** **.** ” she glanced at Garnet. “ **Even if yours are basically jaywalking, running in the halls and public** **acts of affection** **...** ” she smirked.   
Garnet shrugged. “ **Not all of us can be vicious Terrifying Renegades.** ”   
“ **Well,** ** _I_** **find it easy.** ” 


	6. Introductions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Priyanka gets some answers.

“ **Okay, if you are all fed... We should move along now.** ” Pearl looked back towards the stairs with concern. “ **The building is probably being thoroughly searched by now. If they think to look behind those shelves, they will find our footprints in the dust, and they’ll pour in here. I’d rather be as deep into this maze of tunnels as possible by then.** ”   
Garnet nodded and pointed towards their left. “ **This one seems to be our best option.** ”   
“ **Then that’s where we are going.** ” Pearl nodded, leading the way. 

A short distance into the tunnel, Pearl paused. “ **Hmm... Wait a second.** ”   
As they watched, she turned around and swirled her hand a little. The dust on the tunnel floor swirled along, and after a moment, it covered the deep footprints they had left behind, erasing them without a trace.   
Pearl nodded. “ **No sense in making it easy for them to follow us.** ” 

As they walked, every so often Pearl retreated to cover their tracks.   
Priyanka glanced at Garnet, curiously. “ **Hmm... I just remembered... During the fight on the beach. Before Connie was injured. The two kids were there, and then... they weren’t. There was someone else standing there, with the sword... It was like when the little red and blue ones disappeared...** ”   
Steven and Connie nervously glanced at each other. “ **Uhhhh** **...** ”   
“ **I-I can explain...** ” Connie stammered.   
“ **It’s called Fusion.** ” Garnet stated, calmly. 

Priyanka looked at her. “ **Fusion?** ”   
Garnet nodded. “ **Fusion happens when two or more Gems are working in perfect sync with each other. It can happen spontaneously, or as a deliberate choice.** ”   
Priyanka looked confused. “ **I... still don’t understand...** ”   
“ **Humans usually don’t.** ” Garnet shrugged. “ **Pearl’s better at explaining** **most** **things.** ”   
Pearl move beside them as if waiting for her cue. “ **When two or more Gems fuse, their bodies and minds become one. We become someone else entirely. Amethyst and myself become Opal.** ”    
Amethyst waved back. “ **Opal’s a stone-cold momma.** ”   
“ **Albeit, one with a terrible memory who is easily distracted...** ” Pearl smiled. “ **Ruby and Sapphire become Garnet.** ”   
Garnet smiled. “ **Hey.** ”   
Priyanka nodded. “ **Oh. So, that** **huge** **woman that time we had dinner together?** ”   
“ **Was Alexandrite, the fusion of all four of us.** ”   
Amethyst rolled her eyes. “ **Steven couldn’t decide which one of us to bring to dinner as his mother. So, he brought all of us.** **MegaMomma** **.** ”   
Steven blushed. “ **You’re all my family. It didn’t feel right leaving any of you behind.** ” 

Priyanka glanced down at Connie. “ **So, the person on the beach...** ”   
“ **Stevonnie** **. I named ‘** **em** **.** ” Amethyst grinned.   
Pearl nodded. “ **Stevonnie** **is... unique. Gems generally can’t fuse with humans. Steven can, presumably because he’s uniquely half-human himself**.”   
Priyanka sighed. “ **But,** **what is fusion, exactly?** ”   
“ **Fusion is... the psychical embodiment of a relationship.** ” Pearl nodded. “ **Garnet is the personified love between Ruby and Sapphire.** **Stevonnie** **is the personification of Steven and Connie’s friendship and trust in each other.** ”   
Priyanka glanced between to the kids, her suspicions growing. “ **You neglected to mention this, Connie...** ”   
Connie sighed. “ **I wasn’t sure how to explain it without you guys freaking out. After all, I couldn’t just go ‘** ** _Hey, mum and dad, my best friend and I sometimes become an entirely different person who is both of us, but also their own person. That’s cool with you, right?_** **’** ” she shook her head. “ **I would have been grounded until I was** ** _thirty_** **...** ”   
Priyanka nodded. “ **It would have given us some** ** _serious_** **second** ** _and third_** **thoughts about letting you spend any time around him, yes...** ” 

Steven looked nervous. “ **There’s nothing wrong with fusion... I’ve fused with Amethyst.** ” he pointed.   
Amethyst nodded. “ **Smoky Quartz is awesome.** ” she grinned, giving him a small fist bump. “ **Humans always seem to think that fusion’s a sex thing, but it** **aint** **.** ”   
Pearl shook her head. “ **In my experience, humans think** **almost** ** _everything_** **is about sex... But fusion has nothing to do with reproduction. It’s more about relationships.** ” she pointed. “ **Garnet is Ruby and Sapphires love for each other. Sardonyx, which is Garnet and myself, is the embodiment of our fifty-seven hundred year-long friendship. Smoky Quartz is Steven and Amethyst’s love for each other as sibling figures.** ”   
Amethyst grabbed Steven into a hug, giving him a small noogie. “ **Come here, bro.** ”   
“ **Amethyst!** ” Steven giggled, trying to pull away.   
Pearl smiled. “ **Even though they’re not actually siblings through blood or genetics. Gems don’t have those kinds of familial relationships. Or genes for that matter.** ” 

Garnet smiled. “ **I know you still harbour concerns. But we assure you, fusion, true fusion, is about trust, loyalty, communication and respect. It's virtually impossible without some form of consent. The fact that they** ** _can_** **fuse, and so easily, is a sign of their incredible trust and respect for each other.** **Stevonnie** **is wonderful.** ”   
Priyanka looked thoughtful, and the group walked in silence for a moment as she processed everything. 

Finally, she spoke up. “ **I... would like to meet her. Properly.** ”   
Steven and Connie paused, glancing at each other.   
“ **Uhh** **, I guess. If it’s okay with you?** ” he asked Connie.   
Connie glanced at her mother nervously. “ **Um, okay. But** **uh..** **. Stevonnie’s... When we’re fused, we don’t really feel like a boy or a girl. Probably because we’re kinda both at the same time? It's complicated... But,** **Stevonnie’s** **more of a They, or Them... okay?** ”   
Priyanka nodded. “ **Okay.** ”   
Steven and Connie nodded and looked at each other. “ **Ready Biscuit?** ”   
“ **Ready, Strawberry.** ” 

Priyanka stared as Steven quickly spun Connie and dipped her. With a flash of light, Stevonnie stood before her, wiggling their fingers nervously in the air. “ **Uhh** **... Hi Doctor** **Momhaswaran** **... Wait, what?** ” They looked confused for a moment. “ **We have** ** _really_** **gotta** **figure out what to call our parents when we’re fused... Yeah, I know...** ” With a sigh, they glanced back up. “ **Um... Hi. It’s totally weird being taller than you.** ”   
“ **How do you think** ** _I_** **feel?** ” Priyanka sighed. “ **I mean, I know they say that kids grow up too fast, but** ** _this_** **is ridiculous.** ”   
Stevonnie chuckled. “ **I know, right?** ” they grinned as behind them, Pearl calmly reach down and collected their discarded shoes, storing them away for later. 

As the group continued walking, Priyanka glanced up at Stevonnie. “ **So... When did this happen?** **I mean, t** **he first time...** ”   
Stevonnie shrugged. “ **Uhh** **... about a year before the stuff at the hospital...** ”   
Priyanka sighed. “ **I see... Is it really as simple as dancing? They didn’t dance on the beach...** ”   
“ **That was different. We were fighting, and they needed me, so... they became me.** ” Stevonnie scratched the back of their neck. “ **Usually, they need to dance at least a little. But fighting is** **kinda** **like a dance too, with all the footwork.** ”   
Priyanka nodded. “ **Okay... Is... Is Connie still in there? Or does she just... disappear?** ”   
Stevonnie made an unsure noise. “ **Ehhhh** **... Yeah,** **kinda** **. Um... They're both in here, and can talk to each other, but with my voice... But I can either think me, myself and I, or we, and us. I'm one person, but I’m also two people. Sometimes they** **kinda** **... sit back a little, leave me in charge... Other times, they jump forwards. If I need to be smart about something, Connie comes in. When I’m being goofy, that’s totally Steven.** ” they snorted. “ **But,** **Connie can be silly too. And Steven can be smart.** ” 

“ **What about powers? I saw you create that shield on the beach, so...** ”   
Stevonie summoned the large pink shield with a grin. “ **Yeah, I totally got Steven’s powers. Or, his mum’s powers, I guess. He has them** **‘cause** **she had them.** ” Stevonnie pointed at their gem. “ **We’re... still working them all out. But I can summon the shield, heal and do the floaty thing.** ” Stevonnie hopped in place and hovered slightly below the ceiling, their legs folded up.   
Priyanka watched in amazement as Stevonnie slowly drifted down, finally dropping their legs down to stand with a slight wobble. “ **Whoa...** ” she breathed.   
Stevonnie smiled. “ **Yeah, it’s come in handy a few times. Like when we fell off the Sky Arena. Don’t worry.** ” they added at Priyanka’s concerned face. “ **I floated safely down both times. The hard part was waiting for the Gems.** ”   
“ **Both... you fell more than** ** _once_** **?!** ” Priyanka’s face paled.   
Stevonnie cringed. “ **Uhh** **... The first time was an accident, I slipped. We landed safely! We just had to wait for the Gems to warp down to us. The second time, a few weeks ago, the warp pad blew up, and we all had to jump. The EMP** **poofed** **them on the way down, but we found them all.** ”   
Pearl slipped back. “ **Yes, they responded to that crisis quite admirably. They handled it very well, for humans so young. They didn’t even complain about all of the walking, just nudged Garnet when they got tired enough to be carried. We’re very proud of the both of them.** ”   
Stevonnie blushed. “ **Aww, Pearl...** ” 

Priyanka sighed. “ **I suppose it’s too late to really complain much about that...** ” she muttered.   
“ **Well, it was four weeks ago now..**.” Pearl mused.   
Stevonnie paused. “ **Whoa... that’s an entire month...** ” they gasped. “ **I didn’t think it was that long...** ”   
Pearl shrugged. “ **Time seems to fly when you least expect it.** **But,** **time is completely relative anyway. For us, a thousand years is a small amount of time. For you, it’s ancient.** ” she shrugged.   
Priyanka looked at her curiously. “ **Okay... How old are you, exactly?** ”   
Pearl glanced at her. “ **How old do you think I am?** ”   
After giving Pearl a quick look up and down, Priyanka shrugged. “ **Well, Greg mentioned something about a thousand-year war... But you** ** _look_** **maybe...** **early** **to** **mid** **twenties...** ”   
Pearl burst out laughing as Garnet and Amethyst snickered.   
“ **Oh, that’s not even close.** ” Pearl chuckled as she walked away, shaking her head.   
Stevonnie grinned. “ **Pearl is more than six thousand years old...** ”   
Priyanka stared. “ **Holy** **sh** **\- smokes... six thousand...** ” 

After walking in silence for a moment, Priyanka seemed to calm down. “ **Okay, I have two more questions... Firstly... if they’re thousands of years old, does that mean Steven is...** ”   
“ **Fourteen. Just regular years though.** ” Stevonnie added. “ **Yeah, he’s fifteen months older than me.** ”   
Priyanka glanced up. “ **I... presume that was Connie just now...** ”   
“ **Yeah, she jumped in a bit there.** ” Stevonnie blushed. “ **It... sometimes makes it seem like I'm talking to myself. Okay,** ** _technically_** **, I am... but they’re talking between themselves. It's just through me.** ”   
Priyanka nodded. “ **Okay. That’s only a little older, I can live with that.** ”   
Stevonnie looked down at her. “ **What about that second question?** ”   
“ **Hmm? Oh. Well… I can see that their clothes** **kinda** **... combine? I suppose would be the word...** ” Priyanka looked them over. “ **Except for Steven’s jeans...** ”   
Stevonnie glanced down at their blue clothing with Steven’s pink shirt visible under the blue top. “ **Huh. Oh yeah... I don’t know what happened to his jeans though... Their shoes are always left behind,** **cause** **they don’t fit** **me** **anyway, but I’m always wearing either her pants or his... But when they** **unfuse** **, everything comes back. It’s weird, but I’m used to it.** ” Stevonnie shrugged.   
“ **But, where do they disappear** ** _to_** **?** ” Priyanka asked. 

Stevonnie looked at Garnet. “ **I... don’t know... Garnet?** ”   
“ **I** **dunno** **.** ” Garnet shrugged.   
Pearl looked equally confused. “ **Our clothes are about as real as our forms.** ” She reached down and slipped off one of her flat shoes. Dropping it as she balanced on one leg, they watched as it disappeared in a flash of sparkles. “ **We rarely wear real human clothing, and fusing with a human has never happened before, to my knowledge, so... I honestly don’t know what happens with their clothes. But, as long as they’re wearing _something_ , it really isn’t much of a problem...**” she paused to phase a replacement shoe before she put her foot back on the ground.   
Stevonnie nodded. “ **Yeah. This one time, we wore something we brought at the store to a dance. When we unfused, we were each wearing some part of the outfit. Connie had the suit part, Steven the dress part. It’s like... the clothing sort of... split evenly, so neither of us ended up naked...** ” they blushed. “ **But,** **even though the outfit only fit me, the new stuff fit both of us. I... don’t know how that happened...** ”   
Pearl looked at them curiously. “ **Hmm... There’s no reason for human clothing to do that... Perhaps you instinctively phased the smaller clothing on, for the sake of modesty. It’s possible that you** ** _are_** **able to phase clothing like we do, without even** ** _realising_** **that you were doing so. It's about the only** **viable** **explanation that I can come up with...** ” she shrugged. 

Stevonnie stared, starry-eyed. Suddenly, there was a flash of light and Steven and Connie tumbled to the dusty ground with grunts.   
Steven sat up. “ **Whoa! I** ** _can_** **phase clothes?!** ” he grinned as he helped Connie to her feet.   
Pearl shrugged and waved a hand, the dust flying off them. “ **Possibly. I mean, it is a** ** _basic_** **Gem skill, so there’s no real reason why you shouldn’t be able to do it. You just... haven’t really needed to, as Greg supplies all of your clothes.** ” she added as she summoned their shoes. 

Priyanka watched as they slipped their shoes back on. “ **That looked... painful... Coming apart like that...** ”   
Connie shook her head. “ **It’s not.** **Unfusing** **just... feels a little weird for a moment.** ”   
“ **Well, as least you can come apart easily...** ”   
Pearl nodded. “ **Keeping a fusion stable can be difficult. They can break apart suddenly,** ** _especially_** **if they lose focus.** ”    
Priyanka glanced at Garnet, an eyebrow raised.   
“ **Garnet’s a special case.** ” Pearl added. “ **Ruby and Sapphire are always focused on their love for each other. To the point where they can be usually... distracted, as themselves...** ” she added with a glance at the fusion.   
“ **Oh yeah, they’re easily** ** _‘distracted’_** **all right...** ” Amethyst smirked, snickering slightly.   
Garnet blushed and chuckled softly. “ **Guilty...** ”   
Pearl rolled her eyes. “ **Garnet is hard to break apart, and easy for them to form. They don’t even need to dance anymore, as they’re a** **lmost** **always in perfect sync.** ”   
Steven grinned. “ **Garnet’s made of love too strong to fail.** ”   
Garnet grinned back. “ **And proud of it.** ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Distracted? Oh, is that what the kids are calling it nowadays? *eyebrows wiggle*
> 
>  
> 
> See ya next weekend.


	7. Wait... Zombie?!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zombies and pearls and pipes, oh my!

As the group entered a large more open area, they found more tunnels branching off. As they waited for Garnet to determine their best options, they noticed Pearl cautiously pacing around the room, examining it.   
“ **Pearl, what’s wrong?** ” Amethyst nudged her.   
Pearl glanced down. “ **This area is... much cleaner than it should be...** ”   
“ **Ha... I thought you’d _like_ that...**”   
Pearl glanced around. “ **This area doesn't seem as... abandoned, as the previous one we rested in... Someone’s been here, recently, and cleaned it...** ”    
The group looked around nervously.

A clattering noise burst from one of the tunnels. As Amethyst reached for her whips, Pearl placed a hand on hers, shaking her head. “ **Wait... I think I know...** ” Stepping forward, she called out. “ **Hello? We won’t hurt you. Come on out.** ”   
The group waited nervously. After a few minutes, a movement in the shadows in the tunnels caught their attention, and as they watched, a pale light green pearl stepped out, fear on her face as she stayed near the tunnel.

As they looked at the other pearl, her eyes were filled with fear as they nervously darted between them, her eyes briefly settling on Pearl’s face with a stunned expression.   
Pearl sighed. “ **Stay here for a moment... I’ll go talk to her.** ”   
They watched as Pearl calmly stepped forwards, and the two pearls started whispering quietly to each other.

Priyanka leaned towards Connie. “ **Okay, that’s the second person I’ve seen who looks like her... How many sisters does she have anyway?** ”   
Garnet shook her head. “ **Technically, not sisters. Just... the same kind of Gem. There are many pearl, rubies and amethysts on Homeworld.** ”   
Steven nodded. “ **Yeah, Peridot told me that there are hundreds of pearls.** ” he whispered.   
Priyanka gasped. “ **... hundreds...** ” she whispered, shocked.

Pearl returned. Glancing back at the other, she nodded. “ **She’s agreed to lead us through the tunnels to a safer hiding place. Apparently, branches of these tunnels connect to the Kindergarten, and the Shattering Robonoids sometimes find their way down here by accident.** ”   
“ **Huh? Oh, yeah... Those floating robot things that killed Lars.** ” Steven shuddered.   
Priyanka gasped. “ **Wait... killed?!** ”   
Steven nodded. “ **Yeah. Don't worry, I brought him back to life. He's a pink zombie space pirate now.** ” he added with a shrug.   
Connie glanced up at her mother's shocked face. “ **Yeah, just go with it. You get used to weird Gem stuff after a while. It's fun, most of the time...** ”

As they followed the pearl, who still nervously kept her distance from them, Priyanka shook her head. “ **What did you mean, brought him back to life? How did...** ”   
“ **Steven inherited many of his mother’s powers.** ” Pearl smiled at him. “ **One of her powers was the ability to heal human wounds or repair damaged Gems with magical healing tears. Bringing back the... recently deceased, wasn’t something that she used often. At least, I didn’t know about it until recently...** ” she huffed. “ **There is only one being that we know she used it on: Lion.** ”   
Priyanka raised her eyebrows. “ **Oh! Is** ** _that_** **why he’s pink?** ”   
“ **Yeah.** ” Steven nodded. “ **It** ** _really_** **should have been obvious that he was her lion. A** ** _lot_** **of mum’s stuff was pink.** ”   
Pearl sighed. “ **We believe that he was originally just a regular, non-magical lion. Presumably, he suffered some sort of fatal injury. Rose must have been upset enough to heal him. It's possible that she didn’t know he was already gone, and was only attempting to fix his injuries. But, he was revived, turned pink and gained magical powers. Whether or not... uh... Donut Boy... will develop the same powers... we have no idea.** ”

Steven shrugged. “ **Lars already has the magic field place in his hair that connects to the same place inside Lion’s mane... I guess I could ask him next time I see him about any of the other stuff that Lion does.** ”   
Connie crossed off her fingers. “ **Let’s see... walk on water, create portals with a roar... that one might be a burp or a shout for him...** **that sonic roar attack. Again, possibly a shout...** ” she glanced at Steven. “ **Any other powers you know about?** ”   
Steven shook his head. “ **No, Lion never tells me he can do things, until he does them.** ”

Priyanka shook her head. “ **What about this zombie thing? Please tell me you’re not serious about that...** ”   
Steven shrugged. “ **When he came back, I listened to his chest. He had a heartbeat, but it was really slow. Plus, he doesn’t really need to eat or sleep anymore? I mean, Lion eats and sleeps, but... maybe he needs more energy than Lars? Cause he’s an old zombie, and Lars is new?** ” Steven looked thoughtful. “ **Maybe Lars will have to start eating and sleeping again at some point? I dunno...** ”   
“ **Don’t look at me...** ” Pearl muttered. “ **I didn’t even know about the** ** _lion_** **until recently... All we really know is that the two are pink, share a dimension accessed via their hair, and are possibly immortal...** ” she paused. “ **Or at least ageless.** ” she shook her head. “ **But, I’m fairly certain Lion eats and sleeps because he is** ** _basically_** **a cat. His animal instincts make him chase and kill small animals, and sleep for most of the day. … Donut Boy is** ** _not_** **an overgrown housecat, so what applies to Lion might not necessarily apply to him.** ”

Priyanka sighed. “ **Well, where is this boy?** ”   
“ **Space**.” Steven replied. “ **He couldn’t come back to Earth through his own hair, so he stole a ship to get home, along with the Off Colours. They're some more Gems we made friends with the last time I got** **spacenapped** **.** ” he clarified.   
Priyanka glanced at him. “ **I... don’t think I want to know how often that happens...** ”   
“ **At least once a year.** ” he shrugged. “ **I’m getting used to it.** ”   
Priyanka sighed. “ **Well, when he returns to Earth, I’ll need to give him a check-up, make sure that everything’s okay.** ”   
Steven nodded. “ **I’ll tell him** **next** **time.** ”

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** A FEW HOURS LATER... **

“ **Okay, you might not need to rest, but I do...** ” Priyanka groaned as she hunched over, hands on her knees.   
Pearl glanced back. “ **Huh? Oh... Uh, okay.** ” A wave of her hand pushed the dust away to the other side of the tunnel, and with a relieved sigh, Priyanka sat down, leaning against the wall.   
Pearl glanced back at the other pearl, walking over to murmur something. After a moment, she got a small nod in response, and Pearl returned. Reaching up, she summoned some water bottles, handing them out to the two grateful humans, and one half-human.

Priyanka put the already half-empty bottle down. “ **What I wouldn’t give to have your boundless energy again...** ” she mused, glancing at the kids.   
Connie shrugged. “ **Well, after all the training Pearl’s given us, and the three weeks** **or so that** **we spent getting back to Beach City... I guess we’ve just gotten used to walking around a lot...** ” she paused to pull her shoes off with a sigh. “ **My feet are pretty much** ** _entirely_** **callous at this point...** ”   
Steven nodded. “ **Yeah... Even with Garnet carrying us when we got tired, we’ve done a** ** _lot_** **of walking.** ”   
Connie laughed. “ **When we get back, I am going to** ** _own_** **P.E. at school. And ace the standard fitness tests.** ” she added.

Priyanka glanced over at the Gems. Garnet had sat down not far from them, her expression unreadable behind her glasses. A short distance away, Pearl seemed to be meditating as Amethyst leaned against her, soft snores just barely reaching them. Priyanka raised a bemused eyebrow.   
Garnet followed her gaze. “ **Yes.** ” she said, her voice low. “ **They’re together.** ”   
Priyanka half-jumped, startled. “ **Uhhh** **...** ”   
“ **But only for a short while now. They're still figuring things out. They don’t feel the need to stay permanently fused, like we do. That's... unusual, for Gems...** ” she shrugged. “ **We like being me more than I like being us.** ”   
Steven giggled. “ **Cause you love being love.** ”   
Garnet grinned and picked him up, settling the boy into her lap. “ **So much.** ”

Priyanka stared at her. “ **Okay... How...** ”   
“ **Future vision.** ” Garnet said simply.   
Connie giggled. “ **Garnet tends to answer questions before you can ask them.** ”   
Priyanka sighed. “ **Right, right... alien powers... I’ve** ** _gotta_** **get used to that...** ”

Steven turned and looked over Garnet’s shoulder at the other pearl. She was standing some distance from them, eyes darting between them nervously. Steven gave her a quick wave.   
After a moment of hesitation, she gave a small wave in return.   
Steven got up and walked over with a smile. “ **Hi. My name’s Steven Universe. Do** **ya** **wanna** **come sit with us?** ”   
The pearl shook her head. “ **Uh... No. I’m... fine here...** ”   
Steven nodded. “ **Oh, okay. But you don’t have to be scared of us.** ” he smiled again before he returned to Garnets lap.

“ **She’s pretty nervous...** ” Connie whispered.   
Garnet sighed. “ **She’s probably scared of me...** **Homeworld** **thinks fusions should only be used in battle, so she’s probably scared that we seem prepared to fight.** ”   
Pearl opened her eyes, looking over at them. She gave a quick glance over at the other pearl before she spoke.  “ **Actually, pearls tend to be nervous around** ** _any_** **strange Gem, regardless. And admittedly, we** ** _are_** **a strange group. A warrior** **pearl** **? A half-sized amethyst? Not to mention we’re sitting this close to each other, which isn’t something you see every day...** ” she rolled her eyes. “ **Plus, that’s not even starting on the perma-fusion of two different Gems? A half-human/Gem hybrid? And two humans, which she’s probably never encountered before and can only assume are a threat? Why wouldn’t she be worried?** ”    
They glanced around at each other, taking in their strange group.    
Steven and Connie looked at each other. “ **Yeah, that’s a good point.** ” they said, almost simultaneously.   
“ **We’re a pack of** ** _weirdos_** **.** ” Amethyst snickered, opening one eye to glance up at Pearl with a grin.   
“ **I’ll go speak with her...** ” Pearl sighed, gently shoving Amethyst over a little to lean against the nearby wall before she gracefully stood and walked over to the pearl.

“ **Hi.** ” Pearl smiled, leaning against the wall.   
“ **Uh... H-hello...** ” the pearl stammered.   
Pearl rolled her eyes. “ **You can relax. No-one here wants to hurt you.** ”   
The pearl looked slightly sceptical.   
“ **I mean it. Okay, I know that we don’t usually trust other Gems** **,** **b** **ut** **... Look, Ruby and Sapphire are lovers, not fighters. Garnet only fights when she needs to, and she prouder of being a fusion of love than she is of her actions during the rebellion.** ” Pearl shook her head. “ **She did what she had to do to survive back then. We all did...** ” she added sadly.

After a moment, Pearl sighed. “ **Anyway... Garnet still remember what happened during** **the war, the last time someone hurt a pearl in front of me. I’m... fairly certain that she’s still** **scared** **of me.** ” she smirked. “ **She** **_is_** **the only one that still calls me the** ** _terrifying_** **renegade** **...** ” she chuckled. “ **As for** **Amethyst... She’s** **harmless and adorable... and mine.** ” she added with a small blush.    
The pearl stared at her in disbelief.   
“ **What?** **Like** **you haven’t found some quartzes to be gorgeous...** ” Pearl smirked.

Pearl waited as the pearl stammered and blushed. “ **Relax, I won’t tell...** ” she shrugged. “ **As for the others... Steven is... well, he’s Steven. The boy** ** _shoos_** **bugs out of the door rather than squish them. Honestly, Connie, the girl, is more of a threat than he is. That's mostly because I've been training her with a sword. But she doesn’t have that right now.** ” she tapped her gem. “ **And as for h** **e** **r mother there... she’s only a threat for someone biological. But she took an oath not to hurt anybody using her knowledge of the human body. As for me, I am simply incapable of hurting another pearl.** ”   
Pearl sighed. “ **Look, you don’t** ** _have_** **to come and sit with us if you don’t want to. I just want you to know that you are not in any danger with us. We’re the Crystal Gems. We protect those who can’t protect themselves.** ” With that, Pearl walked away, sitting down and leaning against Amethyst with a sigh.

** A FEW HOURS LATER... **

As they rounded a corner, they came into sight of another pearl, who quickly scurried around the corner with a small shriek.   
Pearl sighed. “ **We’ll get her. Come on...** ” she tapped the light green pearl on the shoulder as she passed.

After a few  minutes , the three pearls came  back into view, two of them holding back as Pearl come forwards. “ ** Okay, we’re almost there. ** ” she nodded.  The two pearls started walking ahead, and Pearl quickly motioned for the group to follow.

It didn’t take long for the tunnel to open up into a small room. Pearl paused and looked at them. “ **Okay... Uh, you will** ** _all_** **need to wait here... Only pearls are allowed beyond this point. I will try my best to get permission to bring you in. Garnet? Amethyst? Can you provide light for them?** ”   
Garnet nodded, lighting up the gems on her palms, bathing the small room in deep reddish light.   
Amethyst quickly added a purple glow, creating a gentler magenta tone.    
With a nod, Pearl turned and walked into a nearby tunnel, the other pearls quickly joining her.   
After a quick look around, the group settled down to wait.  
Steven raised his shirt and gave his gem a poke. " **I've gotta learn how to do that...** " he sighed as it remained dimmed.  


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** AN HOUR LATER... **

“ **Pearl's coming back.** ” Garnet intoned. She allowed her gems glow to fade away, leaving them bathed in the purple light from Amethysts’ gem.   
The group looked down the empty tunnel, and after a few seconds, Pearl reappeared, her gem glowing faintly.   
Amethyst stopped glowing as she got to her feet. “ **Well, P?** ”   
Pearl sighed. “ **Well, I have permission. But there are some things that I need to tell you first. The reason only pearls are allowed into this place, is because... it’s where we’re made. This is the Pearl Factory.** ”   
Garnet’s jaw dropped. “ **Whoa...** ”   
Connie glanced up. “ **I’m...** **gonna** **guess that’s a big deal...** ”   
Garnet nodded. “ **Nobody knows what in there, except for pearls. Even the Diamonds aren’t allowed to go in, for any reason.** ”   
Pearl nodded. “ **Correct. But under our current... circumstances, I'm allowed to bring you inside. However,** ” she raised her closed hand. “ **There are conditions. Firstly, we’re only going into the basement. You are not allowed to go anywhere else inside the building. So,** ” she started raising fingers. “ **No wondering off to explore, do not make excessive noise, as it’ll upset everyone, and** ** _definitely_** **do not annoy anyone.** ” she glanced at Amethyst.    
Amethyst shrugged. “ **That’s fair.** ”   
“ **Oh, and Steven? No randomly hugging anybody, except for us, okay? I’ve had more than five thousand years to get used to random hugs; the other pearls have not.** ” Pearl smiled at him. “ **Even if a pearl is crying, do not hug them. Just... get another one's attention, and point the sad one out to them. We take care of our own.** ”

As Pearl turned and started into the tunnel, the others followed. As short distance in, she paused. “ **Oh, I almost forgot...** ” she held out a hand. “ **There’s a force-shield around the Factory, to prevent anybody from entering. It's keyed to allow pearls through though. Although, I suppose it was never designed to affect humans... Anyway, I can easily block it off for you.** ” Turning, she took a few steps forward before she jumped up slightly, wedging herself near the ceiling. After a moment, she nodded. “ **Okay, you can pass underneath me.** ”   
Once they had all gone through, Pearl calmly hopped down and pushed past them. After a few metres, they turned a corner to find a small door. Pearl sighed. “ **Right. I need you all on your best behaviour. This is... a special place, for me. Be respectful. Please...** ”

Pearl opened the door, holding it for them. As they stepped through, they paused and stared. The room had pipes of various thicknesses against the walls and meandering above their heads. The distant ceiling was covered with a light grey haze, through which the dark lines of even more pipes were just visible. Occasionally, the high-pitched whistle of a steam release valve sounded, breaking the silence. Gathered around, staring at them wordlessly as they sat on pipes and peered in through doorways, were a few dozen pearls in a wide variety of colours.    
“ **Uhhh** **... This is** **kinda** **creepy...** ” Amethyst muttered. “ **Pearl?** ” she called back.   
Pearl stepped through, closing the door with a soft click. “ **Hmm, yes?** ” She looked around the room to find that the assembled pearls had all started to stare at her. “ **Oh... Yeah, I guess that word has gotten out that I’ve returned...** ”

At their confused looks, Pearl shrugged. “ **Apparently, I'm a bit of a legend around here. I've** **already** **been** **referred** **to as ‘** ** _The One Who Fights_** **’, amongst other things...** ** _‘Blade’_** **would be my favourite so far...** ”   
After a short moment, she smiled. “ **I might** **as well give th** **em** **a bit of a show...** ”

Stepping forward, she summoned her spear, twirling it expertly around as dust rose up, spiralling around the flashing spear as Pearl stopped in a fighting stance. Finally, she straightened up. “ **Hi there.** ” she grinned at the pearls starstruck faces.   
Amethyst snickered. “ **Show off...** ”   
“ **If you got it, flaunt it.** ” Garnet chuckled. “ **And** **Pearl** **_knows_** **she’s** **got it** **.** ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, yeah, I know. I've used the Pearl Factory before in another fic. But this is a different part of it. So there.


	8. String Theory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Being a pearl is suffering. Let's learn why!

**THE NEXT DAY...**  

“ **So,** ” Connie began as Pearl cleared up their bowls. “ **What’s with the pipes?** ” she pointed up.   
Pearl glanced around their small side room. “ **Uhh** **... I’m not actually allowed to say too much about this place. Especially about anything involving how we are made... All I can say is that they’re for water and steam transportation, as water features** **heavily** **in... the process...** ” she trailed off.   
Steven was starry-eyed. “ **You were** **made** **_here_** **?** ”   
Pearl nodded. “ **Yes. I was number two-four-zero-four-two of the First-Class pearls to be made. Well, in this string, anyway...** ”   
Connie leaned forwards. “ **String? First class? We’re** **gonna** **need more than that...** ” 

Pearl glanced around at their curious faces and sighed heavily. “ **Umm... Okay, I suppose it’ll be okay to tell you this...** ” Waiting as they got comfortable, she set a bowl down. “ **A string is basically... Well, in human terms, a generation, of pearls. You see, every so often, the upper classes of Gems decide that pearls in** **general** **need a redesign, or that there’s a** **serious** **flaw that needs to be dealt with. Like, perhaps, the discovery that we can think for ourselves.** ” She added darkly. “ **This usually means that all the pearls of the existing string** **are** **recalled and destroyed, to be replaced with the new string.** ”   
“ **That’s terrible!** ” Steven sobbed, moving closer to hug her as the others stared, horrified.   
Amethyst wrapped her arms around Pearl and Steven. “ **Pearl, that’s messed up.** ”   
Pearl glanced at her. “ **That’s life. For a pearl, anyway... short, painful, and full of suffering. You get used to it.** ” she shrugged. 

After a moment, Pearl sighed. “ **This** **has happened several times over the course of Gem history. Six times, to be exact. I’m part of the seventh string of pearls. Now, because we are not made the same way as other Gems, we have a** **_completely_ ** **different designation system. We do not have a cut, and there is no Kindergarten facet for a pearl. My full designation is 7-25042-1. I was the twenty-five** **thousandth** **and forty-second First Class pearl to be made in the seventh string. It's... rather self-** **explanatory** **. Well, to a pearl, at least.** ” she shrugged. 

“ **What about the First-Class bit? Does that mean you’re better than most pearls?** ” Connie asked.   
Steven looked up at her. “ **Peridot did say that you were fancy...** ”   
Pearl blushed. “ **Well, um... Pearls do have ranks, yes. The higher your rank, the better your life usually is, because of a better class of potential owners. I-** ” her hand moved and covered her mouth.   
“ **Pearl?** ” Amethyst tapped her arm curiously.   
After a moment, Pearl sighed as her hand dropped. “ **-can’t really say too much about... that... it’s just... there are, reasons, beyond my control...** ” she looked away, avoiding eye contact. 

After a moment, Connie looked thoughtful. “ **So, if you’re a First-Class pearl, you must have belonged to someone more important than say, a Second-Class pearl, right?** ”   
Pearl’s eyes darted nervously between Connie and the floor. “ **Well** **, yes... that is how our system works...** ”   
Connie opened her mouth to continue, but Pearl suddenly jumped up, Steven still in her arms. “ **Well, I promised to help out a little around** **here** **, so I’d best go see if anyone needs me.** ” she blurted out before she dropped Steven into Garnet’s lap and left the room in an awkward march. 

Amethyst went to the door and looked out to see Pearl walking up to a couple of pearls standing near a console. After a brief moment, she nodded and bent down as she started to remove an access panel. “ **Well, that was weirder than she usually is...** ” she muttered.   
Garnet nodded, her mouth twisted as she thought. “ **I’m... curious, about what you were going to say, Connie.** ”   
The girl looked nervous. “ **Err... Just something that’s** **occurred** **to me recently... and her explanation today** **kinda** **... made things click a little.** ” she looked towards the door. “ **Umm... I should probably ask her if she’s okay with me talking about this at all. She did look** ** _really_** **uncomfortable just now...** ” she quickly got up and darted to the door, slipping through. 

Connie walked over to Pearl, who was now lying on the floor, upper body inside the console as she examined the control panels circuitry. “ **Hey, Pearl?** ” she waited as Pearl glanced out briefly. “ **Umm... I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable like that...** ”   
Pearl glanced back towards the door. “ **Uh... That’s okay. It’s just... there are some things that I'm...** ** _incapable_** **, of talking about. Even** **if** **I want to. One of** **those** **things** **involves** **the...** **identity,** **of... my** ** _former_** **owner...** ” she said hesitantly, choosing her words carefully.   
Connie made a mental note. “ **So, you can’t tell us at all?** ”   
“ **Not a jot.** ” Pearl sighed.   
One of the two pearls standing nervously nearby gasped as the others eyes widened in shock. “ **Oh, you have a gag order?!** ” 

Pearl nodded. “ **Sadly, yes...** ”   
Connie looked between them. “ **Uh, sorry. Human here. What's a gag order?** ”   
“ **I...** ** _literally_** **, can’t... Uh...** ” Pearl shifted to see the others. “ **Can you...** ”   
The blue-tinted pearl nodded. “ **Of course, 25042.** ” Turning towards Connie, she gave a small bow. “ **You see, pearls are required to always be at our owners' sides, unless otherwise ordered. This means that we’re privy to many of their secrets. However, pearls are also not allowed to discuss certain things without their owner's permission. If we witnessed them doing something that is against a Diamond’s orders, we are technically required to report them. But they can prevent us from doing so by placing our hands over our mouths and ordering us not to speak of it.** ”   
The other pearl, a lavender one, nodded. “ **After that, whenever we’re asked about the event, or are tempted to talk about it, our hands move automatically to cover our mouths, in order to silence ourselves. If our arms have been removed to prevent this, we can be impelled by the gag order to shatter ourselves given the chance.** ”   
Connie stared between them before finally looking at Pearl with horror. “ **That’s... the most** ** _horri_** ** _fying_** **thing that I have ever heard...** ”   
Pearl sighed as she ducked back into the control console. “ **Welcome to** **Homeworld** **, kid...** ” she muttered. 

Pearl worked in silence for a moment before she sighed heavily. “ **There are things I want to tell them... but I fail every time. Even if Garnet held my hands down, I'd just... use my foot and kick myself in the mouth. Or bite my tongue off. If that failed, or if someone kept asking me... I'd just thrash uncontrollably until Garnet had no choice but to let me go. Then I'd likely slam myself gem-first into a wall. Repeatedly.** ”   
Connie glanced back towards the door as Steven peeked out. “ **What about me? Uh... I** ** _think_** **I know who your owner was, but... How about if** ** _I_** **say the name? If your hands move, I'll know I'm right, and we can figure it out from there.** ”   
Pearl sat back up with a weary expression. “ **There’s far more to the story than just the name. Without the context, they won’t really understand why I can’t tell them myself...** ”   
Connie started pacing slightly, deep in thought. “ **Well... what about your holograms? If you can show them...** ”   
Pearl was already shaking her head. “ **It won’t work. I can’t even warp to... a certain location... without the order redirecting me** **elsewhere** **. I've tried, by the way, so I know it for a fact. So a hologram simply won’t work.** ” she sighed, but suddenly looked curious. “ **Although** **...** **Hmm** **, you** ** _may_** **have just given me an idea... Let me finish up here, while I mull it over.** ” 

A few minutes later, Pearl sighed as she opened the door, Connie following her in.   
With a nod, Connie stood before the others. “ **Uh, the thing is... Apparently, Pearl** ** _literally_** **can’t talk about some things. There’s some gag order thingy that stops her. And yes, it’s as terrible as it sounds.** ” she glanced up at Pearl with sympathy. “ **But she might have a way around it.** ”   
Pearl fidgeted nervously. “ **I... can put you into my gem. You can see my memories for yourself.** **And it might even cancel the order...** ” she sighed sadly. “ **I can only hope.** **But not all of you. This... involves several memories, and I’ll have to send you between them. It’ll be quicker if I only have to move a couple of you each time. Um... I’d prefer it if Amethyst stayed out here, to comfort me if I get too upset...** ”   
Amethyst nodded. “ **I can do that.** ”   
Pearl looked between the remaining Gems. “ **Okay... Garnet, this is... something, I’ve wanted to tell you for more than five thousand years, so you're in.** ”   
Garnet nodded and stood. “ **Okay, who else?** ”   
Pearl glanced down. “ **Steven. Sorry Connie.** ” she looked at the girl. “ **But this is something that he** ** _needs_** **to see for himself. You have your suspicions; you also likely have an idea about why it needs to be him...** ” 

Connie sighed. “ **Yeah, okay. That probably means I'm right though. Tell me everything.** ” she added to Steven.   
He glanced up at Pearl for a moment. “ **Uhh** **...** ”   
Pearl nodded. “ **At that point, it’ll be okay.** ”   
“ **Right.** ” Steven nodded at Connie.   
Pearl fidgeted for a moment.   
“ **Do we have to do anything?** ” Steven asked.   
Pearl shook her head. “ **No... It’s just... You’ll see...** ” she sighed sadly and held out her hands. “ **Ready?** ”   
“ **Ready, Betty.** ” Steven grinned, taking one hand as Garnet took the other, a small smile on her lips.   
Pearl looked at him with confusion. “ **Betty...? I’m...** **Nevermind, let’s just... do this** **...** ” she sighed.   
As the other watched, a beam of light came out of Pearl’s gem, and the pair were suddenly lifted up, disappearing with a flash of sparkles. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter is short.
> 
> Yes, I'm leading up to the PD=RQ reveal, that's pretty obvious.  
> But I'm doing things a little differently. More in chronological order.  
> I'm still... unsure, if I've done it well enough, but I honestly can't be bothered attempting to rewrite it.  
> I just want this to be done and posted already.  
> *sighs*
> 
>  
> 
> See ya next weekened.


	9. Every Now and Then I Fall Apart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically, what the reveal might have been like if it had been a double-length episode, Like ‘Bismuth’, ‘Gem Harvest’ or ‘Reunited’.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This... probably could have been written better.  
> But I wanted to put things in chronological order, instead of jumping around the timeline.  
> *shrugs*  
> I also wanted to show that Pearl's been wanting to tell Garnet everything for all that time.

As Steven sat up, he found himself in a bright white room. Garnet suddenly picked him up and set him on his feet before she pointed to his right.   
There, in front of a wall of spears, was Pearl.   
“ **Whoa... There’s another Pearl, inside Pearl’s pearl?!** ” he exclaimed.   
Garnet shrugged. “ **I guess.** ”

The two walked over, Garnet gently tapping Pearl on the shoulder.   
“ **Hmm? Oh, Garnet, Steven. Now, where should I store you? Let’s see...** ” she turned and examined the wall, using one hand to change screens. “ **I suppose I could go alphabetically...** ”   
Garnet shook her head. “ **Pearl. You sent us in here to view some memories, not to be filed...** ”   
She turned. “ **Oh. Uh, which memories?** ”   
Steven shrugged. “ **We’re not sure. Something to do with** **a gag order** **? I think...** ”   
Pearl paled, her eyes darting nervously towards Garnet. “ **Uhhhh** **... My... I mean...** ” She sighed, her hands fidgeting. “ **Uh... okay. I can... send you there. It's a long story though, and you’ll need to be sent to different places by the Pearl already there, but... just...** ” she sighed, looking at Garnet with the faintest hint of tears in her eyes. “ **Please. Forgive me. Forgive** ** _us_** **.** ”   
Garnet looked back, confused.   
Pearl sighed heavily before she reached out and took their hands, and with a flash of light, they disappeared.

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Looking around, they saw large murals of the Diamonds on the walls around them.   
“ **Oh, this is the Moon Base.** ” Steven grinned. He jumped, but came down quickly, Garnet catching him. “ **Aww, no Moon Boy today...** ”   
Garnet nodded. “ **Looks like it.** ” she nodded towards the nearby stairs. “ **I doubt she wants us to go outside though, so...** ”   
With a quick nod, the pair started to ascend the stairs, Steven still in Garnet’s arms.

“ **I wonder what that does?** ” Steven glanced into the room with the large orb.   
Garnet shrugged. “ **Still not important right now.** ” she moved past.

As they drew near the top of the stairs, they started to make out voices. “ **Hey... that sounds like Pearl... But I don’t know that other voice...** ” Steven put his hands behind his ears. “ **Maybe it’s her owner?** ”   
“ **Maybe...** ” Garnet nodded. “ **Sounds familiar somehow...** ”

As they entered the main room, they both paused in shock. Standing beside the control panel was Pearl, wearing a colourful dress. Beside her, in the command chair, looking extremely bored, was Pink Diamond.   
Garnet’s jaw dropped. “ **No... It-it can’t be...** ”   
“ **Pearl belonged to Pink Diamond?!** ” Steven whispered hoarsely.

Pink Diamond sighed, glancing at Pearl. “ **Could you** ** _imagine_** **that running a colony would be this** ** _dull_** **?** ”   
“ **I** ** _could_** **imagine it, if you would like me to, my Diamond.** ” Pearl replied.   
Pink Diamond's face fell. “ **Show me the status of the Prime Kindergarten.** ”   
“ **Yes, my Diamond.** ” Pearl stuck her hand on the console, a hologram bursting from her gem. “ **The first Quartz soldiers are due to emerge soon.** ”   
Pink Diamond looked excited. “ ** _Finally_** **, something exciting!** ” she giggled, standing and running past the watching pair, who pressed themselves against the wall, before she skipped the stairs altogether and jumped down to the lower floor. 

Pearl paused in front of them. “ **There’s more, and you need to see it to understand, and for the order to** **hopefully** **be cancelled, but... I... I doubt you’re going to like what happens next...** ”   
Garnet and Steven glanced at each other.    
“ **I want to know what happens next...** ” Steven nodded.   
Garnet nodded in agreement. “ **So do I.** ”   
Pearl sighed. “ **Okay, but... Remember, I was** ** _literally_** **_made_** **to make her happy. I was...** ** _only_** **trying to do that. I didn’t think she’d** ** _actually_** **take it as a suggestion... Or that it’d get so out of hand...** ” she sighed, walking down the stairs.   
After a moment, the two followed her.

Pink Diamond sat near the orb. “ **Hurry, we’ve got to see this. Quickly, turn it on!** ”   
Pearl nodded. “ **Yes, my Diamond.** ” she reached out and touched the orb.   
There was a small flash, and the room changed to a view of the Kindergarten. Steven gasped. “ **Is this what it does?!** ”   
Pink Diamond grinned. “ **Look at this, Pearl! We’re creating life from nothing!** ”   
A wall nearby started glowing, and suddenly a large amethyst burst out, walking towards them.   
“ **So that’s how emerging happens!** ” Steven was starry-eyed.   
Garnet shrugged. “ **That’s how we remember it.** ”   
“ **Welcome to Earth!** ” Pink Diamond grinned, her arms open.   
The amethyst walked through her, and Pink's face fell.

As the amethyst walked over to a small group of similar looking Gems, Pink sighed. “ **I wish I could just** ** _be there_** **...** ”   
“ **I’ll have us warped in** **to** **the Kindergarten at once, my Diamond.** ” Pearl nodded.   
Pink shook her head. “ **W-what? N-no, no, if I went down to the Kindergarten, I would** ** _never_** **hear the end of it from Yellow and Blue. Oh, but could you** ** _imagine_** **? Me, down there, laughing and playing with the amethysts?** ”   
Pearl nodded. “ **Of course** **I can, my Diamond.** ” she created a hologram, Pink laughing between two amethysts as they grinned. “ **You look so happy.** ”   
Pink sighed. “ **I won’t be so happy when Blue and Yellow find out...** ”   
Pearl looked thoughtful, as did the Gems in her hologram. “ **They won’t find out.** ”    
“ **How’s that.** ” asked Pink.   
Pearl’s eyes darted nervously over to Steven and Garnet. After squeezing her eyes shut for a moment, she continued. “ **Because... you look just like a quartz.** ”   
Steven and Garnet gasped as the hologram changed, showing Rose Quartz with the amethysts.

“ **You change your shape for a day!** ” Pearl added.   
Pink Diamond grinned. “ **That’s** ** _brilliant_** **, Pearl!** ”   
Garnet stepped back as Pink Diamond glowed, her gem rotating and her form changing shape until Rose Quartz stood before them in a similar uniform to the amethysts.   
Steven gasped and clutched his gem, his mouth open in shock.

Pearl smiled and closed her eyes, cancelling her hologram. “ **I’m glad I was able to help, my** **Dia** **-** ” She looked up, confused.   
“ **Hehe, down here.** ” Pink waved, and Pearl lowered her gaze with obvious surprise.   
Garnet backed into the wall. “ **No... She couldn’t have been... she shattered Pink... but she was... I don’t understand...** ” she trembled.   
As the memory of Rose Quartz ran down the stairs grinning, Pearl stayed behind. Finally, she looked at them. “ **There’s... more you need to see... To understand this...** ” she looked away again as she held out a hand.   
Steven looked down at his gem briefly, and after a small hesitation, he took Pearl’s hand.   
Garnet was against the wall, trembling. “ **I-I can feel that they want to** **unfuse** **. I** ** _want_** **to** **unfuse** **. But, I can’t...** ”   
Pearl looked back. “ **Oh, uh... sorry. That's something I should have mentioned sooner. No real Gem can fuse,** **unfuse** **, shapeshift or use their powers inside my gem. Only Gems within my memories can do so. It's to stop my data from being, well... corrupted, by another Gems data.** ”   
Steven went over to Garnet, holding her hands. “ **Are you okay?** ” he said softly.   
Garnet looked down. “ **Shocked... is all...** ”   
Pearl sighed. “ **The next memory is actually more than one, so I’ll need to send you to several different points in time... But I hope it can help you to make sense of... everything...** ” she held out her hand again, hope behind the sadness in her eyes.   
Garnet sighed. “ **Okay.** ” she took Pearl’s hand. Steven slapped his hand down on top of hers.

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They found themselves in the Prime Kindergarten. Pearl and Rose stood on the warp pad, watching the Gems move around below.   
Rose grinned happily. “ **Pearl, look! This is...** ** _incredible_** **! We have to go down there and check it out.** ” Jumping down to the lowest level, Rose looked around, thrilled as various amethysts ran around. Suddenly, an amethyst ran past, bumping her and knocking her over.   
“ **Outta** **my way!** ” the amethyst growled, barely pausing.   
Pearl knelt to check Rose. “ **Oh no! I’m so sorry, these amethyst guards can be so** ** _rude_** **...** ”   
Rose sat up. “ **But pearl, don’t you see what’s happening?** ”   
“ **Huh?** ” Pearl looked confused.    
Rose smiled. “ **We’re actually here, and I'm fitting right in! None of that dumb salute... Thank you so much for talking me into this. I couldn’t have done this on my own.** ”   
Pearl blinked. “ **Uh... You’re welcome, my Diamond...** ”   
“ **Shh, Pearl... You’re** **gonna** **get us in trouble.** ” Rose leaned closer, glancing around nervously.   
Pearl blushed and glanced around. “ **Sorry, my... Quartz.** ”   
Rose giggled and stood up.

The pair walked over to a group of amethysts standing on one side of the canyon.   
Rose waved. “ **Hey, fellow amethyst guards, what are we all waiting for?** ”   
One of the amethysts shrugged. “ **There’s two more from our unit that haven’t emerged yet, so we’re** **gonna** **wait for them. Oh, here comes one of them now.** ”   
Another amethyst burst from the wall, landing on the ground nearby.   
Rose walked up to her, arms wide in greeting. “ **Whoa, look at you. Welcome to Earth!** ” she exclaimed, patting her upper arms.   
The amethyst looked surprised. “ **That is the first and nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.** ”   
Another amethyst ran up to the group. “ **What’s going on here? Our orders were to move out as you emerged!** ”   
“ **But, 8XM hasn't emerged yet...** ”   
“ **She can catch up with us later. Go, go, go!** ”   
Steven gasped as the group ran off, one pausing to glance back at the wall with a sigh. “ **8XM! That’s** ** _our_** **Amethyst!** ”

As the amethysts moved away, Rose started to follow them, but Pearl stepped in front of her. “ **My Diamond? Please, let’s not draw any more attention to ourselves than we already have.** ”   
Rose sighed with disappointment. “ **You’re right. But things were getting really** ** _fun_** **...** ”   
Looking thoughtful, Pearl sighed. “ **What if we took some time to explore some of Earth’s other features?** ”   
Rose’s eyes sparkled. “ **Pearl, you’re so smart!** ”   
The pair turned and walked towards the end of the canyon.

As they stood looking out towards the open plains, Rose stared. “ **So, this is Earth.** ”   
Pearl nodded. “ **And this is just a small portion of the resources available for making Gems on this planet.** ”   
“ **I have to see it all.** ” Rose breathed. She ran out into the field, Pearl close behind.

After a brief flash of light, the sun zipped across the sky, pausing almost directly overhead. As Steven and Garnet watched, the  unlikely  pair stopped beside a stream, and Rose stared wide-eyed at a fish swimming lazily in the water. As she stood up, her mouth dropped at the sight of a small group of humans on the other side of the stream.

As the sun moved rapidly across the sky again, the pair returned to the Kindergarten.   
Pearl glanced up. “ **Is everything alright, my Diamond? You seem troubled.** ”   
Rose sighed. “ **All this life that’s been growing wild here on Earth... none of it will survive my invasion. We're not creating life from nothing. We're taking life, and leaving nothing behind.** ” she said sadly.   
Pearl looked uncomfortable. “ **Forgive me, my Diamond. I shouldn’t have brought you to such a place.** ”   
Rose shook her head. “ **No. I needed to see this.** ” she sighed as she started to walk into the canyon.   
Pearl stayed behind. With only a small glance, she held out her hands to the waiting Steven and Garnet.   
The pair took them without hesitation.

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They found themselves in another base. Pearl stood beside Yellow Pearl as Pink Diamond stood before Yellow Diamond.   
Yellow Diamond pinched the bridge of her nose. “ **You whined to me about wanting a colony for millennia, about being** ** _just_** **as important, and now you want to give it up? You** ** _will_** **finish what you started, Pink. End of discussion.** ” she pointed down at her angrily.

Pearl turned towards them, her hands already out.   
Steven glanced behind her at Yellow Pearl. “ **Hey, you said that you didn’t know her...** ”   
Pearl blushed. “ **The order prevented me from saying anything connected to my time with Pink Diamond. That includes any time spent with the other Diamonds pearls.** ” she shrugged. “ **Plus, I didn’t** ** _exactly_** **lie. I only said that not all pearls know each other.** **Which is the truth.** ”   
Steven nodded. “ **Oh. That makes sense.** ”

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“ **Please, we can’t just... destroy all of it...** ” Pink pleaded.   
Blue Diamond sighed. Touching the screen in front of her, she contacted another Gem. “ **Tanzanite. I need you to create a team to design a place to keep a small number of biological lifeforms.** ”   
“ **Y-yes, my Diamond.** ” the Gem nervously saluted.

Pearl looked at Steven. “ **The Zoo... was Blue’s idea. She thought it would make Pink happy. She only went along with it after... I convinced her to. It was our Plan B.** **I** **f we were unable to stop the colonisation process, the inhabitants of the Zoo would be the last remaining vestiges of humanity. We thought that... perhaps if we learned of another world that had been rejected as a potential colony, but could support human life, we could eventually move them there.** ” she sighed heavily. “ **Pink tried** ** _everything_** **to stop the colony. Everything she** ** _could_** **do as Pink Diamond. But her status meant nothing to Yellow and Blue... so, she decided to make a stand, as someone they couldn’t ignore.** ”   
“ **Rose Quartz.** ” Garnet said simply.   
Pearl nodded. “ **She was going to scare every Gem off the planet. But... everything changed when she saw... you.** ” she looked at Garnet, her hands out.   
Garnet took it as Steven grabbed the other.

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They found themselves in a garden, surrounded by rose bushes.   
Garnet looked around. “ **I remember this place.** ”   
Rose came into view, grinning with amazement as Pearl walked beside her. “ **I still can’t believe it. Only on Earth, don’t you think? Only on Earth where anything can happen. A fusion of two completely different Gems!** ” she laughed slightly. “ **Can all Gems do that? How have I never heard of this? I've only heard that, it’s unheard of.** ”   
Garnet snorted as Steven giggled. “ **Makes sense.** ”   
“ **Can you** ** _imagine_** **what that must feel li-** ”

They watched as Pearl suddenly crouched down and lifted Rose above her head. “ **Fusion... activate!** ” she strained for a moment before they suddenly toppled over into a nearby bush, panic on their faces.   
Garnet doubled over laughing as Steven clutched his belly. “ **Oh, that’s too funny!** ”   
The memory paused, and Pearl sat on the ground, her face dark teal. “ **Shut up! I was young and silly...** ” she groaned, hiding her face in her hands.

As their laughter started to die away, Pearl huffed. “ **Well, if you two are quite finished...** ” she muttered.   
Rose sat up, looking bewildered.   
Pearl blushed. “ **Oh-I thought- If a ruby and a sapphire... but you’re a Diamond... Forgive me! What am I doing? I... I need to be replaced immediately!** ”   
Steven stopped giggling, looking at Pearl with concern.   
Beside him, Garnet frowned.   
“ **No!** ” Rose shouted.   
Pearl’s face was bright teal. “ **But... I've been imagining things. Even when you haven’t asked me to. I imagine that I ran away and met you here on Earth, a Rose Quartz. And I'm not yours, but I make you so happy anyway! Isn't that ridiculous? Tell me to stop!** ”   
Rose grabbed Pearl gently whilst blushing. “ **Please don't ever stop!** ”

Steven blushed and covered his eyes, but a bright light drew his attention. For a brief moment, the two had disappeared, but suddenly the glimmering form broke, and the two tumbled to the ground again.   
Pearl sat up, a look of horror on her face. “ **This is** ** _very_** **not allowed.** ”   
Rose gasped. “ **That fusion! We never should’ve left her there with Blue; who knows what sort of horrible punishment-** ”   
A loud crashing noise sounded through the bushes, and the two jumped to their feet, Pearl drawing her sword.

They followed her through the bushes to find a brightly coloured Garnet sitting confused on the ground. “ **Ow...** ** _AH_** **!** ”   
Pearl’s sword was pointing at her face, and as Garnet half-crawled backwards, Pearl’s eyes widened. “ **It’s you.** ”   
Garnet’s eyes were wide as she stared up at Pearl. “ **We didn’t mean to fuse! Well... well we did this time. We'll** **unfuse** **, we’ll...** ”   
Rose stepped besides Pearl, who lowered her sword. “ **No, no, please. I’m glad to see you again.** ”

Steven’s eyes were sparkling. “ **You had** **bubblegum** **hair?! You never told me you had** **bubblegum** **hair!** ” He clutched Garnets hand excitedly.   
Garnet blushed. “ **Uh... watch the memory, Steven...** ”   
Rose offered a hand to Garnet, who stood. “ **Welcome to Earth.** ” Rose said, Pearl grinning beside her.   
The memory paused. Pearl turned and walked towards them. “ **Okay... there’s one more memory that you need to see. I...** ” she sighed. “ **It’s personal, and I’m ashamed of it, but... you need to see it. Both for you to fully understand what happened, and for the gag order to be lifted completely.** ” she held out her hands. “ **This is the last one, I promise.** ”

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They looked around the small room. “ **This** **kinda** **looks like a palanquin...** ” Steven murmured.   
“ **Probably Pink’s. The others couldn’t fit on that.** ” Garnet pointed at the small throne before them.   
Whispered voices caught their attention, and with a glance at each other, they walked around the small throne.   
“ **And then we’ll be done. It's going to be so easy!** ” Rose smiled.   
Pearl clutched the large pink sword nervously. “ **There’s got to be another way. I mean, maybe-** ”   
Rose frowned. “ **Blue and Yellow don’t care. They never have.** ” she muttered bitterly. “ **This is** ** _Pink_** **_Diamond’s_** **colony. We can end it all right here, right now.** ”   
Pearl held the sword closer. “ **You know this is crazy, right?** ”   
Rose nodded, a small smile on her face.   
“ **Your status, my purpose. None of it will matter anymore.** ”   
Rose nodded faster, excitement on her face.   
Pearl sighed. “ **This will change everything.** ”

Rose grinned. “ **I know! Isn't it exciting?** ”   
Pearl sighed and blushed. “ **It is.** ”   
“ **We can leave our old lives behind. If this is really my world, I want to give it to the Crystal Gems. I want to live here with human beings! I** **wanna** **live here with you! We'll both finally be free!** ” Rose’s eyes sparkled with excitement at the idea.   
Pearl looked up at her and smiled. “ **Okay. I'm ready.** ”   
Rose took her hands. “ ** _Peeearlll_** ** _!_** ” she squealed softly.   
Pearl sighed. “ **I can’t believe I'm going to do this...** ”   
“ **I can’t exactly shatter myself.** ” Rose smiled as she hugged Pearl.

Garnet and Steven watched as Rose glowed and reformed into Pink Diamond. They stepped back as she walked past them to the door, kneeling down to pick up a handful of dirt. She returned, opening her hand to reveal a small pink flower. Pearl smiled as she took it, placing it in her hair. Pink squeezed her hand tightly and blew into it, finally opening her hand to reveal a few small pink shards.   
Garnet gasped. “ **So that’s how...** ”   
“ **Convincing?** ” Pink Diamond asked, glancing at Pearl.   
Pearl looked uncomfortable. “ ** _Very_** **much so, my Diamond.** ”   
Pink smiled. “ **Soon, it’ll be just** ** _Rose_** **.** ”

Reaching up, she placed her hand to her mouth, and as Pearl grimaced, Pink swallowed the fake shards.   
Pearl nodded and reached for the sword, but Pink held out a hand.   
“ **Wait, there’s one last thing I need to do.** ”   
Pearl put the sword aside. “ **Yes?** ”   
Pink shook her head. “ **No-one can** ** _ever_** **find out we did this. I never want to look back. So,** ” she reached out and held Pearl’s hands, folding them over Pearl’s mouth. “ **For my last order to you as a Diamond, please, let’s never speak of this again. No-one can ever know.** ”   
As Pink Diamond stood and stepped outside the palanquin, Pearl’s hands dropped.   
As she glanced at the two with sadness, she started to glow.   
Steven gasped as Pearl shapeshifted into Rose Quartz. Bending down, she picked up the sword and stepped outside.

Garnet sighed. “ **So, that’s how it happened...** ”   
“ **Everything about Rose was a lie...** ” Steven murmured.   
A small shriek sounded from outside, followed by angry yells. Suddenly, they stopped, and Rose stepped back inside.   
She glowed and turned back into Pearl, who stood there nervously. “ **And that’s it. She was... she was wrong, and stupid, and** ** _selfish_** **... The Diamonds** ** _did_** **care about her. They were so angry about losing her that they created the** ** _Corruption_** **. They destroyed** ** _everyone_** **, all of our friends, and so many of their own soldiers.** ” She was openly crying, tears streaking down her cheeks. “ ** _Why did I do it?!_** ” she wailed, sinking to her knees with a sob.   
Garnet and Steven quickly knelt beside her, their arms wrapping around Pearl as she cried.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for giving me these last two weeks to recover.  
> As for an update on the dogs that killed Bluebell...
> 
> The owners posted on a lost pets page on facebook, mentioning that there were kids who missed them.  
> I saw it and let them know what had happened, and that they needed to contact the council about their dogs.  
> They've decided to let one go, possibly to be readopted.   
> The other dog is being returned to them since their yard has been inspected and deemed safe.
> 
> At least they're now aware that their dog needs to be contained for the sake of other peoples pets.


	10. Forgiveness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay, new plans.

Amethyst wrapped her arms around Pearl as the tears streamed down her face. “ **Pearl?! What wrong?!** ” she whispered, concerned.   
Suddenly, there was a flash of light, and Steven and Garnet landed roughly on the floor.   
Pearl started to shake with sobs. “ ** _I’m_** ** _sor_** ** _-sorry!_** ” she wailed. “ ** _It’s all my fault!_** ”   
Steven jumped up and ran to her. “ **Pearl, I’m not mad.** ”   
Garnet quickly joined them. “ **We forgive you.** ” she whispered, kissing the top of Pearl’s head. “ **We forgive you...** ”   
Pearl seemed to cry harder at this, sobbing uncontrollably as the three held her.   
Connie and Priyanka glanced at each other with concern. 

After a while, the group managed to sit Pearl down, Amethyst holding her tightly as Steven leaned against her.    
“ **Guys, what happened?** ” Amethyst whispered.   
Garnet sighed as Pearl curled up, sniffling. “ **Pearl... belonged to Pink Diamond.** ”   
“ **Called it.** ” Connie nodded.   
Amethyst glanced at Pearl. “ **But... why is she so...** ”   
Steven’s hand hovered over his gem. “ **Mum** **... didn’t shatter Pink Diamond...** ” he sighed. “ **Rose...** ** _was_** **Pink Diamond.** ”   
“ **Whaaaatttt** **!** ” Amethyst exclaimed. “ **What are you talking about?! Steven, Rose was a quartz.** ** _Rose_** **_Quartz_** **, it’s right in the name bro.** ”   
Garnet sat down. “ **She shapeshifted herself to look like that. We... saw it all, in Pearl’s memories.** ”   
Amethyst shook her head. “ **Come** ** _on_** **... Rose was Rose for like, five thousand years. Even** ** _I_** **can’t shapeshift for** ** _that_** **long.** ”   
Pearl sniffled. “ **After I... After** ** _we_** **faked her shattering, she reformed to look like a quartz permanently.** ” she looked sadly at Amethyst. “ **She** ** _was_** **made a Diamond... But she** ** _wanted_** **to be a quartz.** ” 

Garnet sighed. “ **Admittedly, I was... furious.** ”   
Pearl flinched slightly. “ **I’m sorry...** ” she said softly.   
“ **After seeing the whole story... I understand now.** ” Garnet reached out and took Pearl’s hand.   
Pearl sniffed sadly. “ **I’ve wanted to tell you for so long, since after the war... but I couldn’t. I tried to get Rose to understand that if anybody should know,** **if anyone** ** _deserved_** **to know the truth, it was you, but...** ” She sighed. “ **She was stubborn, and selfish... she wanted to leave her past behind her completely. Whether or not it was just selfishness, or guilt about the Corruption, I never knew. The gag order prevented me from asking about it, and Rose never spoke to me about it at all.** ” 

Connie glanced at Steven. “ **So.** **.. Steven's basically a Diamond?** ”   
He lifted his shirt and looked sadly at his gem. “ **I... I** **dunno** **...** ”   
Pearl shook her head. “ **Steven is... Steven. If he wants to be called a Diamond, or a Quartz, or just a silly little** **doofus** **, that’s h** **i** **s choice. He's not her.** ” she paused briefly. “ **...Either of her...** ” she shook her head again. “ **He’s not Pink Diamond, and he’s not Rose Quartz. He’s Steven Universe.** ” she sighed. “ **Okay, sure, he’s technically inherited the Earth, but...** ” she allowed a small smile to cross her face. “ **There will be no world domination until you’re at least twenty-one, young man.** ” she smirked.   
Steven giggled, letting his shirt fall. “ **Aww, that’s not fair...** ” he crossed his arms. “ **And I was** **gonna** **fix everything and end all wars too...** ”   
Pearl smiled genuinely at him. “ **Okay, maybe we can swing eighteen. With Greg’s permission.** ” she sighed. “ **It’s pretty late, and it’s been a long day. For all of us...** ” she muttered. “ **Maybe we can finish this tomorrow...** ” 

 

 **THE NEXT DAY...**  

“ **So, how** ** _are_** **we going to get home?** ” Priyanka asked as she finished her lunch. “ **Doug’s probably frantic by now, and** **I** **doubt Greg’s handling this any better...** ”   
Connie and Steven glanced at each other. “ **I** **dunno** **. Dad’s getting** **kinda** **used to me going into space.** ” he shrugged.   
Connie nodded. “ **Yeah, I’m more worried about my dad. He gets upset if I come home from** **sword** **-training** **more than ten** **minutes** **late... Being abducted by aliens and take to another galaxy is probably** **gonna** **get me** ** _so_** **_grounded_** **... But then again, he’d have to ground you too.** ” she grinned at her mother.   
Priyanka sighed. “ **I'd like to see him try** **...** ” she rolled her eyes as the two kids giggled. 

“ **Well, our options are pretty much the same as before.** ” Pearl started. “ **But we do have a new one...** ”   
The group paused to listen.   
Pearl sighed. “ **We send a pearl to tell the Diamonds the truth about Pink.** ”   
Steven looked at her nervously. “ **How will that get us home?** ”   
Pearl shrugged. “ **Well, there’s a chance that we can convince them to not only give us a ship to get home, but to also leave the Earth alone from here on out. Provided that they believe our story.** ” she sighed. “ **Apart from that, our options are still steal** **ing** **a ship, sneak** **ing** **through the Galaxy Warp or plant** **ing** **explosives as a distraction and** ** _then_** **steal** **ing** **a ship.** ”   
Steven shook his head. “ **I still don’t like that one.** ” 

“ **The idea to tell the Diamonds the truth is too risky. They’ll will need to see Steven’s gem close up, and they might decide to rip it out to bring her back.** ” Garnet shook her head. “ **We’re not doing that one.** ”   
Connie nodded. “ ** _Definitely_** **not. The Galaxy Warp one** ** _could_** **work, but how can we guarantee that w** **e’ll** **end up** **somewhere** **we can** **breathe** **? Future Vision?** ”   
Garnet shook her head. “ **Only works if I have enough information to work with. I know even less about what’s out there than Pearl does. If she can’t guarantee a planet will be safe,** **then I can’t either.** ”   
“ **So, we** **take a ship** **then?** ” Priyanka asked.   
Garnet shrugged. “ **Looks like it.** ”   
“ **Hey, Pearl? Are you okay?** ” Amethyst asked. 

Pearl had fallen silent, a strange expression on her face.   
“ **Pearl?** ” Steven called.   
“ **It couldn’t still be there... could it...?** ” Pearl muttered.   
Amethyst reached out and put a hand on her shoulder.   
Pearl started. “ ** _Wha_** **?! Oh!** ” she looked around at them, a faint blush on her cheeks.   
“ **Penny for your thoughts.** ” Garnet chuckled.   
Pearl glanced around. “ **I was just... I just remember** **ed** **something... Pink had a compound here on** **Homeworld** **that only** ** _she_** **could enter. We... hid a ship there, only a small one, early on in the rebellion.** ”   
The group leaned forward.   
“ **It was** ** _supposed_** **to be a back-up. In case we** ** _did_** **convince the others to leave the Earth alone.** **So** **we could sneak off and collect the humans from the Zoo, return them to Earth, that kind of thing...** ” she shook her head. “ **But we got stranded on Earth instead. Nobody else knew about the ship. Except for** ** _me_** **.** ” she added with a hint of pride. 

“ **We don’t have Pink** ** _exactly_** **... but we do have Steven, and he has her gem. He should** ** _easily_** **be able to open the compound. Once we can access the ship, I’m confident that I’m still able to fly it. Of course,** ” she sighed. “ **It is a** ** _vastly_** **older model. Older than I am, to be honest. But it was already scheduled to be scrapped, as it was** ** _fairly_** **obsolete.** ”   
Priyanka raised an eyebrow. “ **Obsolete? Is it safe?** ”   
Pearl nodded. “ **Yes. Well, the navigation system is entirely manual, so I’ll have to manage that whilst flying a ship older than myself without hitting anything, flying upside down or blowing us all up... But I’ve handled it before. I** **kinda** **stole it...** ” she added with a blush.   
“ **Pearl, you criminal you.** ” Amethyst smirked.   
Pearl rolled her eyes. “ **Eh, a** **dd it to my list of charges.** ” she waved a hand dismissively.   
“ **Are we sure this ship’s still there?** ” Connie asked.   
Steven nodded. “ **Yeah, Lapis did say everything on** **Homeworld** **has changed...** ”   
Pearl shrugged. “ **Honestly, I have no idea. But Blue Diamond preserved the Zoo, and many of Pink’s Gems. It’s a safe bet that she refused to let anything happen to any of Pink’s belongings. The compound should still be there, and therefore, the ship is there.** ” she sighed. “ **I mean, it’s the only plan that likely** ** _won’t_** **involve fighting our way off the planet.** ”   
Garnet sighed. “ **Well, it’s the best plan we’ve got. We leave for the compound tomorrow.** ” 

Priyanka glanced between them. “ **Okay, I have to ask... What’s this about a Zoo? And some humans?** ”   
“ **Oh, I can tell you about that.** ” Steven nodded. “ **A few months ago, my dad and I went to Korea, and he got space-napped by Blue Diamond. She took him to this space station, called the Human Zoo.** ”   
Priyanka’s eyes widened. “ **Human...** ”   
“ **There were a bunch of humans there. Their ancestors were taken** **out** **there thousands of years ago, during the war. Or maybe before?** ” he glanced at Pearl.   
“ **Both.** ” Pearl responded with a small shrug. “ **Mostly getting groups away from areas where we were expecting a battle to take place, so they wouldn’t be caught in the crossfire.** ”   
Steven nodded. “ **We went to rescue him. He almost got Chosen, but he broke everyone’s hearts, and we left. Amethyst met her family there.** ”   
Amethyst grinned. “ **I call ‘** **em** **the** **Famethyst** **.** ” 

Priyanka sighed and rubbed her temples. “ **Do you mean to tell me that there’s a group of humans, trapped in some space zoo, because their ancestors were abducted by aliens thousands of years ago?** ”   
“ **Basically, yes.** ” Pearl sighed. “ **The Zoo was Blue Diamond’s idea. Pink only went along with it as a Plan B, if our rebellion failed, so that there would at least some humans who would survive the colonisation process. The intention was to relocate them to another world eventually, or to bring them back to Earth after the war. But even if we had been able to do so, we couldn’t have. By the time the war had ended, evolution had taken its course. They no longer had any natural immunity to the various microbial life that threaten humans on a daily basis. Bringing them back to Earth would have been a death sentence.** ” she shrugged. “ **They’re better off in the Zoo, where they’re safe, and kept healthy and in a state of blissful ignorance about their own** **homeworld** **.** ” 

Connie looked at Pearl. “ **Did you have anything to do with the Zoo?** ”   
Pearl blushed. “ **Uh... Yes. I was in charge of studying humans, and gathering data on how to keep them alive. The information I gathered was later implemented into the Zoo’s systems. Programs I wrote are still keeping the place running today, although they’ve upgraded the door mechanisms and the security system on the main Zoo unit door...** ” she added with a frown. “ **If they hadn’t done that, I would have easily been able to get us in to collect Greg.** ” she sighed. “ **But that’s in the past. The fact that he** ** _was_** **taken at all is a sign that inbreeding is becoming a** ** _serious_** **issue with the Zoo population. They must be getting** ** _really_** **desperate for new genes...** ”   
Amethyst snorted. “ **Ooh, burn...** ”   
Pearl blushed. “ **No offen** **c** **e to Greg...** ” she added quickly. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I have Pearl recovering from the reveal pretty quick here.  
> But let's face it: she's dealt with that secret for thousands of years.  
> Finally getting it off her chest would be a huge relief.
> 
> See ya next weekend.


	11. Evasive Manoeuvres

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cloak and dagger, gum and shapeshifting.

******THE NEXT DAY...**  

Pearl took the offered clear slab, placing it into her gem. After a brief moment, she returned to the group. “ **Okay, I have a map of the tunnel system.** ”   
“ **How?** ” Connie asked. “ **Is it on that slab thing?** ”   
Pearl smiled. “ **In a way** **... It** ** _is_** **the slab. That’s a memory file. Think of it like... a USB drive, or a memory card. A pearl can give a selected memory to another, simply by handing over the appropriate file. For example, I could give any pearl my memories of say... ancient Rome. That pearl would then know what I know, and be able to give copies to another pearl. I would still retain my knowledge, as I only gave her a copy. This also applies to our knowledge of languages.** ”   
Connie sighed wistfully. “ **Man, I** ** _wish_** **I could do that... Learn something** **that** **easily. It’d make** **school** **a** ** _lot_** **less stressful...** ” 

Pearl closed the door behind her and pushed forward. As they watched, she sprung up and wedged herself near the ceiling. “ **Okay, it’s safe for you now.** ”   
Once everyone was through the force-shield, Pearl dropped down and joined them in the small room. “ **Right...** ” she sighed, summoning the map. “ **We** **need** **to go... This way.** ” she pointed down a nearby tunnel as she cancelled the hologram. 

As the group walked, Pearl occasionally spoke up. “ **Ooh, if only we were on the surface right now. Above us is the Repository, where copies of all orders and documents are stored for future reference.** ” she sighed. “ **And the architecture is pure classical** **Homeworld** **.** ”   
“ **Nerd...** ” Amethyst snickered.   
“ **Hush.** ” Pearl retorted, a faint blush streaking her cheeks. 

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“ **Oh, we almost under the Barrack Block. That's where rubies are usually housed, when they’re not needed elsewhere.** ”   
Garnet grunted. “ **Ruby was never all that fond of the place. It was pretty noisy, what with everyone fighting and screaming at each other.** ”   
Pearl nodded. “ **So, being rubies then.** ” she smirked.   
“ **C** **r** **a** **m** **it, Pearl...** ” 

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“ **Ah, we’re not too far from the** **Grande** **Arena. That’s... a terrible place...** ” Pearl shuddered.    
Connie looked up briefly. “ **Why? What happens there?** ”   
Pearl sighed. “ **Death for entertainment isn’t just a human thing, let’s just leave it at that.** ”   
The group followed her quietly. 

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 **THE NEXT DAY...**  

After a couple of hours walking, they entered another large open area. As Pearl paused to check the map, a strange beam of light ran up her body, pausing at her gem, as she looked around, confused.   
Steven jumped in front of her, shield raised as a red beam flashed out of the darkness, reflecting off the shield to hit the wall. “ **Murder robots!** ” he yelled.   
Out of the darkness of another tunnel, a trio of shattering robonoids floated out, their single red glowing eyes already scanning the group. Behind them, the red dots of many more glowed in the darkness.   
Steven widened his shield, grunting with the effort as the three beams bounced off. 

Pearl growled and leapt over him and off to the side, drawing the robonoids attention.   
“ **Pearl! Stay behind the shield!** ” Steven yelled.   
“ **It’s not the first time that I’ve been told to do that. And it’s not the first time that I’ve utterly ignored it. Steven, protect the others. Let** **the Terrifying Renegade** **have** **her** **fun.** ” Pearl called back, grinning madly. She ran towards the robonoids, leaping between them. As they turned towards her, she smiled, her fangs bared. 

The three robonoids scanned her again and took aim. As they fired, Pearl leap straight up, grabbing onto the rock wall with one hand. Two of the robonoids exploded, hit by friendly fire.   
Pearl dropped down on the third, slamming it to the ground. Straddling it, she ripped away a small panel on the side, reaching in and struggling with it briefly.   
Suddenly, the robonoid stopped moving, and Pearl shoved her entire arm inside, wearing it like a glove. With a manic grin, she spun around and fired a red beam towards the other incoming robonoids.   
The room filled with a faint haze of smoke and dust. The sound of several small explosions echoed back to them from across the room. 

As the smoke and dust cleared, they stared as Pearl appeared, standing alone in the wreckage of a dozen robonoids, electrical crackling randomly firing from their fried circuits with her new cannon raised expectantly.   
Pearl disappeared down the tunnel as Steven lowered his shield.   
Amethyst’s jaw had dropped. “ **I have** ** _never_** **been gayer than I am** **right** **now...** ” she breathed.   
Garnet nodded, a faint blush darkening her cheeks. “ **That’s why half the Crystal Gems wanted her. The other half were** ** _rightfully_** **afraid to** **piss** **her off** **.** ”   
Connie smirked. “ **Starting to wonder which side** ** _you_** **were on...** ”   
Garnet shook her head. “ **Honestly, a** **little** **of both...** ” she admitted. “ **But mostly fear. I wasn’t kidding about her** **being** **terrifying.** ” 

Pearl reappeared with a grin. “ **Well, that was fun.** ” she glanced back down the tunnel. “ **There's doesn’t seem to be any more at the moment, but we shouldn’t linger all the same. They are most likely being tracked, and their destruction at this location would have been logged. Chances are, more are being rerouted here to seek and destroy.** ” she paused to remove the robonoid from her arm, ripping out the wiring from it before throwing it towards the others. “ **As much as I would like to take my new toy with me, I don’t want us to be tracked with it...** ” After briefly pausing to check her map, Pearl nodded. “ **Okay, this way.** ” she moved towards another tunnel, the others following closely, Amethyst still staring in amazed silence. 

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 **THE NEXT DAY...**  

Garnet tied the end of the whip around Priyanka’s waist and gave a thumbs up to Amethyst, who nodded and gave a strong yank.   
Priyanka stifled a yelp as she was rapidly pulled up the shaft and deftly caught by the waiting Pearl at the top.   
As Amethyst willed her whip away, Garnet leapt straight up, landing beside the group with a soft thump.   
Pearl looked around the group and nodded. “ **Okay, we have to keep quiet. The last thing we need to get caught when we are** ** _this_** **_close_** **...** ” she whispered.   
Steven ran an imaginary zipper across his mouth, flipping the tab away before breaking into a grin.   
Beside him, Connie stifled a giggle before she mimed putting a padlock on her lips and throwing away the key.   
Pearl shook her head with a smile. “ **Adorable weirdos...** ” she murmured. 

Pearl swiftly leapt up to the top of the building, looking out through the dingy window. She resisted the urge to clean it, and peered out through the grime. Beside her, the others quietly joined her, Garnet carrying Priyanka.   
“ **Hey, what are those?** ” Connie whispered as she pointed through the dirty window. “ **Those panels? With our pictures?** ”   
On the side of a large building on the other side of the wide, but relatively empty street below, the panels flashed with their images and strange writing scrolled up from the bottom. The images flickered, and the writing seemed to repeat, with Pearl’s taking at least twice as long to do so. Ruby and Sapphire’s images were both followed with ones of Garnet.   
Pearl frowned. “ **Watch Bulletins. Basically... wanted posters...** ” 

Garnet nodded. “ **Our Cuts, Facets, last known form, known fusion in my case... known weapons... list of crimes...** ”   
Amethyst nodded. “ **Ah, that’s why Pearl’s one takes so long to scroll through...** ” she glanced at her with a smirk.   
“ **Hmm...** ” Pearl grinned. “ **They seem to have missed a few...** ” she glanced aside at them smugly. Another glance at the screens and she frowned. “ **And of** ** _course_** **, the reward for our capture is a pearl...** ” she sighed. “ **How ironic: catch a pearl, get a pearl.** ”   
Priyanka looked out, her face confused. “ **Why are we there? We haven’t done anything wrong...** **The blue laywer said that we were only evidence...** ”   
Pearl shrugged. “ **We were last seen with you two. Don’t worry, you’re only listed there as known associates. Basically, if someone out there sees either Connie or yourself, they’ll know that** ** _we_** **can’t be too far behind**.” she groaned lowly. “ **This complicates matters.** ”   
“ **How?** ” Steven glanced at her as the image of his face changed to that of Rose Quartz.   
Pearl sighed. “ **Your mother’s compound is basically around the corner... But we need to go out** ** _there_** **to reach it. Past those Gems, and our bulletins.** ” 

The group took shelter behind some stacked crates for the moment.   
“ **Okay, what’s the plan, Pierogi?** ” Amethyst leaned against her.   
Pearl held up a finger. “ **One moment...** ”   
After a couple of minutes, Pearl nodded. “ **Okay, I guess that’s the best we’ve got... Garnet, I’ll need you to confirm our chances of pulling this off.** ”   
Garnet nodded. “ **Go.** ”   
“ **Okay, we can’t be seen in such a large group, far too suspicious. We also need a way to cover the humans, who can’t change their forms. So, shapeshifting. Amethyst, you need to become a Purple Agate. But not just yet.** ”   
Amethyst nodded. “ **Like Holly Blue? I can do that.** ”   
Pearl nodded. “ **I know. You’ll need to phase on a standard** **Homeworld** **uniform, with a yellow diamond on it. Like... Jasper’s uniform**?”   
“ **Got it.** ” Amethyst nodded. 

Pearl looked at Priyanka and hummed in thought. Reaching up, she summoned a small white plastic object and something wrapped in foil. “ **Hmm... Okay, you’re going to have to pretend to be a pearl for a moment. It’s not that hard, just stay silent, avoid bumping into anyone, and stay close to Amethyst.** ” she held out the objects.   
Priyanka examined the piece of foil. “ **Is this... gum?** ”   
Pearl nodded. “ **Chew it up, and use it to stick that to your forehead. Best I can do on short notice... Unless you’d prefer super glue?** ” At Priyanka’s expression, she rolled her eyes. “ **It’s sugar free. I confiscated it from Greg before he could use it to** ** _‘repair’_** **his van with it...** ” she groaned. “ **He seems to be trying to rebuild the engine entirely with gum and duct tape...** ” 

“ **Okay... Obviously, Garnet will have to** **unfuse** **. Ruby, you’ll be a pearl as well, and stick with Sapphire. Try to give yourself a blue diamond to match hers. If not, some sort of diamond-shaped cut-out will be enough to pass.** ”   
Garnet nodded. “ **I’ll** **unfuse** **when everyone’s ready.** ”   
“ **Fair enough.** ” Pearl smiled. “ **Steven, Connie? You’ll need to be** **Stevonnie** **. Your clothing combined creates a small yellow diamond, which we can use. You’ll be with me.** ”   
The two nodded.    
“ **We leave separately, on different paths, and meet up around the corner. There's a small alleyway about halfway down the block, and the compound’s entrance is there. We’ll figure out our next step once we know that everyone made it safely.** ” she sighed. “ **That’s it. Garnet, what are our odds?** ”   
Garnet crossed her arms. “ **Hmm... Pretty good.** ” she pointed at Priyanka, who paused nervously as she unwrapped her gum. “ **She’ll have the most trouble pretending to be a pearl. So, they should take the shortest, most direct route, to minimise the chances that someone will get curious.** ”   
Pearl nodded and looked at Amethyst. “ **Okay.** ” she created a hologram of the area. “ **You two walk out of the building, and directly down this road until this point.** ” They watched the small versions of themselves move along the miniature road. “ **And then you turn here, and go to this point. That will put you in front of the alleyway, and you can slip in the moment you think no-one's looking at you. If I get there first, I’ll stand guard for witnesses.** ”   
Amethyst nodded and gave a thumbs up. “ **Got it. Don’t worry Connie, I’ll keep** **ya** **mum safe.** ”   
Connie nodded. “ **I know.** ” 

“ **Any other potential issues?** ” Pearl asked.   
Garnet shook her head. “ **Well, I...** **uhh** **... we, should go around this way.** ” she pointed out a path on the hologram. “ **Any other way will have a chance of meeting another sapphire, who might raise an alarm** **if she has a vision** **...** ”   
Pearl nodded. “ **Okay.** **Stevonnie** **and I will go this way then.** ” she traced out a path that led them around the next block, circling around to the alleyway after recrossing the street. “ **Everyone knows their path?** ”   
“ **Yes, Pearl.** ” Steven nodded.   
At their nods, Pearl cancelled the hologram with a sigh. “ **Okay. Fuse,** **unfuse** **, shapeshift, chew that gum.** ” she pointed at them in turn. 

Amethyst glowed and shifted into a copy of Holly Blue Agate. After a moment, she huffed and changed the hair, pointing it up and curling it like horns with a snicker. A quick flash as she placed a tear-drop shaped gem on her cheek and a yellow diamond on her chest.   
Garnet unfused, and after a quick kiss, Ruby shapeshifted into a pearl with a small dark gem set into her chest, a diamond shape around it. With a glance at Sapphire’s hands, she phased long gloves on, helping to cover her own gem from prying eyes.   
Steven and Connie bounced on the spot, Connie twirling Steven around before they fused into Stevonnie. With a quick glance down, they poked the small yellow diamond now placed on their chest. “ **Huh... That’s pretty lucky.** ”   
“ **I’ll say...** ” Pearl nodded as she phased a similar uniform to the other pearls they had seen, a bright pink diamond on her chest. With a quick tap it changed to yellow.    
Priyanka sighed as she pulled the gum from her mouth and stuck it to the underside of the plastic lump and pushed it against her forehead. 

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With a quick glance outside, Pearl and Stevonnie stepped outside the dilapidated building. With Pearl walking slightly behind Stevonnie, they paused briefly before crossing the street, continuing down the block.   
At the end, as they turned the corner, Pearl glanced back to see Sapphire and a bright red pearl walked out, calmly walking in the opposite direction. With a barely noticeable nod, she kept pace with Stevonnie as they moved along the street.   
Shortly after they reached the next corner, they paused to check for onlookers before they crossed the street and turned back towards their starting street.   
As they cross it again, they spotted Amethyst and Priyanka walking quickly towards them.   
Once Amethyst and Priyanka rounded the corner, the two pairs walked along the street on opposite sides. Ahead, they spotted Sapphire and the shapeshifted Ruby walking towards them. 

As they group neared the small alleyway, Pearl gave the smallest glance around the area as Amethyst and Priyanka nervously crossed the street. With a nod, Amethyst darted past, Priyanka quickly dashing after her.   
As Sapphire approached her, Pearl held her finger up subtly. Sapphire slowed her pace as the dark Onyx strolled past her with a quick “ **Your Clarity.** ” After she had passed, Pearl lowered her finger, and Sapphire grabbed Ruby’s wrist, darting quickly into the alleyway.   
Pearl brushed against Stevonnie’s arm. “ **Our turn.** ” she murmured, her lips not moving.   
As they turned and entered the alleyway, an Epidote turned, confused. 

Pearl looked them over with a sigh. “ **Okay, I can’t believe we got away with that...** ”   
Stevonnie tapped the plastic lump on Priyanka’s head. “ **It’s slipping off.** ” she explained.   
Priyanka sighed. “ **Doug will be disappointed that he missed all this cloak and dagger stuff...** ”   
“ **Yeah...** ” Stevonnie chuckled. “ **We’ll have to do a good job of telling him.** ”   
“ **Oy!** ” 

The group turned to see a large yellow-green Gem standing at the entrance to the alleyway, looking at them curiously.   
Just then, the gum gave way, and the fake plastic pearl slipped from Priyanka's forehead, dropping to the ground with a small clunk.   
As they stared back, she eyed each of them suspiciously, and they could almost see the gears turning. “ **Hey... It’s you...** ” she growled, summoning her weapon.


	12. Relic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leaving Home(world),  
> Life was never good to me...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, I'd say that I just can't give them a break, but I seem to be giving them plenty of broken things.

The Epidote glared at them, her mace in hand. “ **I’m finally gonna get myself a pearl...** ” she grinned.   
Stevonnie summoned their shield with a flash, and with a quick movement, they flung it, nailing the Epidote between the eyes with a muffled clang.   
As the Epidote went cross-eyed, she fell to her knees and disappeared in a puff of dust, her gem clattering to the ground.   
“ **Well,** ** _someone_** **was over-confident...** ” Stevonnie muttered.   
Amethyst sniggered. “ **Round one, Stevonnie.** ” she grinned.   
Pearl smiled and patted Stevonnie’s arm. “ **Good job. Now, the sooner we get this door open, the sooner we can get off this dirtball...** ”

Pearl pointed up at the wall at the end of the alleyway. “ **Okay, do you see those two hand panels up there?** ”   
Stevonnie squinted briefly before they nodded. “ **Yeah?** ”   
“ **And down there is an etching shaped like Pink’s gem? With the point up?** ” Pearl lowered her hand.   
Stevonnie nodded, one hand hovering over the pink stone in their belly. “ **Yeah? I see it...** ”   
Pearl nodded. “ **Okay, to open the door, you’ll need to place both hands on the panels, and activate the emblem with your gem at the same time. It’s much like opening the temple door. You'll probably need to jump up and float for a moment to reach everything. But it’s a good thing that you’re already fused. It'll be easier to reach everything.** ”   
Stevonnie looked at the two panels and the emblem for a moment before nodding. “ **Okay. I can do that.** ”

As Pearl nervously kept watch, Stevonnie sprung up. They overshot slightly, but as they started to drop down, they quickly pressed a hand into each panel. Concentrating, the emblem gently lit up, finally glowing bright pink.   
A grating noise echoed through the alleyway, and as Stevonnie’s feet touched the ground, a tall panel on the wall opened up.   
Pearl nodded. “ **Well done. Quickly, it won’t stay open for long...** ”

As the door grated shut again, Ruby and Sapphire quickly fused before Pearl led them through the dusty corridors, her gem lighting the way. She sighed. “ **Look at the state of this place... This is what happens when I don’t clean for more than five thousand years...** ” a thick cloud of dust was kicked up, and she waved a hand to push it aside, clearing a path. “ **Oh, if I only had the time...** ” she muttered.   
After leading them down a small maze of corridors, she paused at a door. “ **Okay, here’s the hanger.** ” she nodded, pressing the panel beside it.

As the door slide open with a small whoosh, Pearl reach through and tapped something on the other side. Suddenly, the room filled with light, and she cut the beam from her gem.   
Garnet stared. “ **A J-Class personal transporter...** **You have got to be** **kidding me, Pear** **l** **!** ”   
As the group stared, Pearl looked at Garnet, confused. “ **Well, yes... I said it was an older model...** ”   
“ **What’s wrong, Garnet?** ” Stevonnie asked.   
Garnet groaned. “ **No wonder it was being scrapped... This isn’t just obsolete, it’s a piece of garbage!** ”

“ **Garnet?** ” Amethyst glanced at Pearl. “ **What’s wrong with it?** ”   
Garnet sighed. “ **Just about everything... The J-Class transporters were considered obsolete before flight testing had even started. And those tests were never completed, because the controls were so crazy, no-one was able to fly ‘** **em** **. They only made about a dozen of them, and nine of them crashed. Seven of them fatally.** ”   
Priyanka glanced at Pearl. “ **You said it was safe...** ”   
Pearl sighed. “ **It’s true that these ships were... notoriously difficult to fly. But you’re forgetting something.** ” she crossed her arms. “ **I** ** _can_** **fly it. I've done it before when I stole it, and again when we hid it here.** **Without raising any suspicion, might I add.** **And I** ** _can_** **do it again.** ** _Unless_** **you have a better plan.** ” she added smugly at Garnet.   
Garnet huffed, crossing her arms. “ **No... I don’t...** ”   
Pearl smiled. “ **Well then, in that case, I’d best start checking the systems.** ” With that, she turned on her heels and strolled towards the ship.

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** TWO HOURS LATER... **

Pearl waved over to them, and they jumped up, walking over to her as Garnet trailed behind.   
“ **Okay, everything checks out. Actually, the fact that it’s so old works in our favour.** ” she glanced at Garnet. “ **There’s no tracking system installed. Once we take off, we’ll be impossible to follow.** ” she glanced back at the ship. “ **But,** **I can confirm that it’s flight worthy.** ”   
“ **I doubt it...** ” Garnet muttered.   
Pearl rolled her eyes. “ **Oh hush...** ”

As they boarded the ship, they took in the various buttons and lights on the control console, along with the two seats.   
Pearl nodded at the chairs. “ **This was a personal transporter, so it was designed to only carry a pilot and one Gem. That seat does have restraints built in for safety, so you three should take that one.** ” she nodded at Steven, Connie and Priyanka. “ **It might be a bit of a squeeze, but it** ** _was_** **designed for a... shall we say, larger-bodied Gem?** ” she smirked.   
“ **Some Gems need... ample seating...** ” Amethyst snickered.   
Pearl stifled a laugh as she nodded at the other seat. “ **The pilot’s seat doesn’t have restraints, as a pilot was never considered to be important enough** **to save in the event of a crash** **... But Gems are already fairly sturdy. We can squeeze into it.** ” she glanced back. “ **I’ll close the door and activate the airlock. It’s... manual control only...** ”   
Garnet sighed and slipped into the seat. Amethyst hopped up, sitting on her lap. 

Finally, Pearl returned and after checking the restraints were set correctly, she slipped in the front.    
Amethyst wrapped her arms around her. “ **I’mma** **seatbelt.** ” she murmured.   
Pearl smiled, patting the purple Gems’ hand fondly. “ **Okay, everyone ready?** ”   
“ **Let’s go home.** ” Steven smiled from his place half on Priyanka’s left leg.   
Connie nodded from the other side. “ **Yeah, Beach City or bust!** ”   
“ **Please don’t say bust... that’s still an option...** ” Garnet groaned.   
Pearl rolled her eyes. “ **Oh, be quiet, you Negative Nephrite.** ” She shook her head as she placed her hands on the controls.

Above them, a whirring noise shuddered through the building. “ **Retracting the hanger door.** ” Pearl nodded. “ **Starting drives...** ”   
As the group braced themselves, Pearl grinned madly. “ **Hold on...** ” she yelled as she slammed a large button.

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Priyanka groaned and shifted. Opening her eyes, she blearily took in the worried expressions on Steven and Connie’s faces as they sat on her lap.   
“ **Are you okay, mum?** ” Connie whispered.   
Priyanka nodded. “ **I... I think so... What happened?** ”   
Pearl called back. “ **I apologise. I... forgot, that this ship predates inertial dampeners. You three passed out from the g-forces.** ”   
“ **I’m** ** _still_** **surprised we didn’t blow up at launch...** ” Garnet muttered.   
Pearl reached back and gave her a gentle slap on the cheek. “ **Oh, ye of little faith.** ” she glanced back with a smirk. “ **I** ** _told_** **you it was flight worthy, and that I** ** _could_** **fly it. Maybe next time, you’ll trust me.** ”   
Garnet huffed. “ **About as far as I could throw you...** ”   
“ **So, a fair distance then.** ” Pearl snickered as Amethyst burst out laughing.

As Pearl casually tapped a few buttons, she nodded. “ **Okay, that’s our course set for now. I'll have to make minor adjustments to keep us on course, but...** ” she half-twisted, whispering to Amethyst.   
“ **Gotcha.** ” Amethyst slipped out of the seat, walking back towards the passenger seat. “ **Hey, check this out...** ” she grinned, disconnecting their restraints.   
As the three floated up towards the ceiling, Amethyst chuckled at them.   
“ **Whoa...** ” Priyanka flailed around in a slight panic. “ **What is** **going on?!** ”   
Steven laughed. “ **We’re in space!** ” he flipped onto his back and started swimming, kicking his way towards a nearby wall.   
Connie giggled and started paddling towards him. “ **This is awesome!** ”   
Priyanka twisted around in midair. Her eyes settled on the viewport at the front, and her eyes widened. She managed to paddle her way to the port, staring out in wonder.   
After a moment, Steven and Connie joined her, their eyes sparling as they took in the clear view of bright and unrecognisable stars.   
Pearl smiled up at them. “ **No space adventure is complete unless you** ** _actually_** **see** **space** **.** ”

After a while, Pearl scanned over the control panel again with a nod.   
“ **Hey...** ”    
She glanced up to find Priyanka looking at her. “ **Uh... Yes?** ”   
“ **How long will it take? To get to Earth, I mean...** ”   
Pearl shrugged. “ **It’s... difficult to say. This is a very old ship, and its propulsion systems are vastly inferior to say, Peridot’s handship, or the rubies Roaming Eye... Or even any ship we’re familiar with from the war era.** ” she glanced back at Garnet. “ **At our current pace... it’ll likely take us a minimum of... two weeks?... to enter the Galactic void, between our galaxies. Another week or two to cross that vast expanse. And then maybe... three or four weeks to reach Earth.** ” she nodded. “ **So, probably another... six to eight weeks...** ”   
Priyanka stared. “ **Oh. Well, I guess that can’t really be helped...** ”   
Pearl sighed. “ **Sadly, no. But I still have plenty of supplies stashed away. With careful rationing, and more than a little luck, we should reach Earth safely, and with you all in reasonable health.** ”

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** TWO DAYS LATER... **

“ **Amethyst, Garnet? Get them back in the seat.** ” Pearl glanced back at them.   
As Garnet pressed Steven down beside Connie on Priyanka’s lap, he squirmed. “ **Aww... I was having fun...** ”   
“ **Yeah... What gives?** ” Connie huffed.   
Pearl called back. “ **Make sure they’re restrained as well.** ”   
Garnet checked the straps and nodded. “ **Done.** ”   
Amethyst nudged Pearl. “ **So, fair question. What gives?** ”   
“ **We’re about to enter a system that I distinctly remember belonging to Yellow Diamond.** ” she sighed. “ **She had a colony there, and if it’s still active, then we could be in for trouble. I’d prefer if you are all restrained, in case I need to make evasive manoeuvres.** ”   
As Garnet and Amethyst slipped in behind her, Pearl murmured under her breath, so that only they could hear. “ **Of course, seeing as we’ll be outclassed by pretty much everything out there, our evasive capability is effectively nil.** **And personal transporters never have any sort of weapons array.** **If we do encounter another ship, we won’t last long...** ”

Amethyst glanced up at Garnet, concerned. “ **So, what's the plan?** ” she whispered.   
“ **The moment we see another ship, we aim for the nearest planet, and** ** _pray_** **that it has an atmosphere that humans can survive in...** ” Pearl sighed. “ **And that we can find another ship...** ”

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Pearl veered away from the ship, narrowly dodging the laser fire.   
As she hit the atmosphere and the exterior of the ship started to heat up, Pearl’s eyes darted over the view ahead. “ **Thank the stars...** ” she murmured, the sight of thick green forests and swamps under a blue sky promising an oxygen-rich atmosphere.   
An impact slammed the ship forwards, and warning lights flashed erratically. Pearl scanned the console quickly with a frown. “ **We’ve taken a hit!** ”   
Behind them, Priyanka wrapped her arms around the kids protectively.

As they drew closer to the thick trees below, another impact rocked the ship. Pearl grimaced. “ **And there goes the controls...** ”    
Looking up, her eyes widened. “ ** _Brace for impact!_** ” she screamed.   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay folks, that's it for part 2 of this trainwreck.  
> Part 3 will begin... first weekend of July.  
> But I may start it a week earlier, maybe, if I feel like it.


End file.
